Series of One Shots
by bettyloupete
Summary: These are a series of one-shot stories about the Cahill kids that follow canon. They are random and not in chronological order. Just fun fluff that I always wondered might happen as they kids age. I'll add more as I dream them up. Some of this builds from my story "The Concert Heist" Read if you wish. I love these characters, hope you do too. I love reviews-please leave one!
1. Decisions

Prologue

_Off the Coast of Maine, moments after the end of _Flashpoint

_"Ten seconds!"_

_Light dawned on Amy. "The book!" She snatched the computer away from Cara and typed: HOPEOLIVIA._

_There was no response from the tablet, and for a horrible instant, Amy wondered if the screen might have frozen. Then a ping sounded and a message appeared:_

_DETONATION ABORTED_

_SYSTEM RESET_

_The countdown clock was halted at 0:02._

_J. Rutherford Pierce, the man who had very nearly been president, laid his head in his hands and wept like a heartbroken child._

30 minutes later Pierce and his men had been loaded onto several Coast Guard vessels followed closely by FBI agents. Galt had been remanded to his mother's care and she was being interviewed by the media. Amy and Jake had both been seen by EMT's and while Jake was released, Amy had been put on a gurney and given and IV and oxygen. She was severely dehydrated and was suffering from extreme exhaustion. To tell the truth, Amy felt like she could sleep for days. Jake refused to leave her side, so had Dan. Both boys hovered just a short distance away, waiting for the oxygen mask to be removed so they could talk to her. She was grateful for the forced quiet, she needed her mind to silence itself after her week-long hyper-alert state.

An EMT came to check on her, the IV was nearly empty and Amy felt more alert and awake than she had before. "You're free to go, miss" the EMT said. As soon as Jake and Dan saw this, they were at her side instantly. "Though, you need sleep and drink as much water as you can handle. It's going to take you some time to revive from your ordeal."

"Thank you, I will." Amy said, Jake supporting her under her arms as she stood.

He turned toward her, his eyes a mixture of relief and concern, "Are you OK?"

"Yes, I think so, but I am very tired, he was right about that. I could sleep for days." Amy replied.

"Amy, thank God you're alright." Dan said, hugging his sister around the middle, squeezing tight. "I don't know what I would have done if you didn't make it."

Amy put her arms around her brother and squeezed back, but looked up at Jake silently. Only he knew what really happened on that plane. She could tell he was trying to hold something back; his eyes were tight and he kept his mouth a firm line. They had a lot to discuss when they got back to Attleboro.

"Yeah, Dan, I made it. Thanks to Jake. If he hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened." Amy knew she hadn't given herself the antidote, she couldn't. Her arms had stopped working. She glanced at Jake again and gave him a smile.

Jake reached over and took her hand, squeezing it. To his surprise, Dan switched from hugging Amy, to giving Jake a quick hug; not too much, they were bro's after all.

"Thanks Jake. You saved my family; she's all I have left." Dan said. Jake went wide-eyed and quickly patted Dan on the back a few times. Jake's serious look vanished, replaced by tenderness at the gesture by the 14-year-old.

"No problem Dan, she's important to me too." Jake said, staring at Amy.

They drove the nearly 3 hours back to Attleboro. Jake walked Amy up to her room and made to tuck her into bed. She knew she had only a few moments.  
"Jake, I—" Amy started, but Jake put one finger over his lips.

"We'll talk about everything once you wake up. You need your sleep." He said.

"You're going to stay?" Amy said with raised eyebrows. "You'll wait for me to sleep?"

Jake scowled, "Of course, I'm not going anywhere." He said as if the idea of him leaving was a foreign concept.

Amy crawled under her covers and as soon as her head hit the pillow, the desire for sleep came on strong. She smiled at him and stuck out her hand to him, "I'm so glad. I thought you'd want to get home, or even head back to Rome."

Jake gave a tiny huff and smiled, "Not just yet, I have to make sure you're okay first. Plus, we have a lot to talk about." He made to turn and walk toward the door, but Amy held his hand fast. He turned back to her.

"Stay with me." She asked, pleading in her eyes.

Jake raised both eyebrows incredulously. He opened his mouth to protest, but Amy beat him to it.

"Just until I fall asleep. Please?" she searched his eyes with her own tired ones.

He relented. He laid down next to her. She, under the covers, he, on top of them. They pressed together with his arm wrapped tightly around her middle, his head nestled in the crook of her neck.

Amy instantly felt sleep wash over her, but there was one thing that had to be said before she drifted off for hours or days perhaps.

"Jake?" she whispered.

"Go to sleep, Amy. It can wait." He whispered in return.

Her thoughts were becoming blurry again and she could feel herself start to drift off. "I didn't mean what I said in Tunis." She said in barely a whisper, "I do love you, I always have and I always will."

With that, she drifted off to sleep, but she could feel Jake tighten his grip around her chest and pull them that much closer together.  
"I know," Jake said to an asleep Amy. "Why do you think I couldn't leave you?"

Amy woke up sometime later, stiff and sore, like she'd run a marathon. She knew it was light out but had no idea what time it was. She noticed a baby monitor on her night stand and looked quizzically at it. _What is that doing here?_ She thought, throwing off the comforter. She was still dressed in her clothes from…how long had she been asleep?

She made her way over to the bathroom, she stripped off her clothes and took the world's longest hot shower. She let the steam reinvigorate her sore muscles. When she was done, she dressed in jeans, an old t-shirt and ran a brush through her wet hair. She was in the middle of brushing her teeth when there was a soft knock on the bedroom door. Jake poked his head around,

"You're awake. Can I come in?" he asked.

Amy spat out the paste from her mouth and motioned him in.

She turned to face him, "how long have I been asleep? And, why is this in my room?" she held up the baby monitor.

"You've been asleep 26 hours, Amy. I was starting to get worried, so, we all decided to get that to keep tabs on you in case you stopped breathing, or something."

_"I've been asleep for 26 hours?!"_ Amy said with alarm.

Jake just nodded.

The events that took place over the previous week flashed through her mind: Dan dangling above the river, Amy taking the serum to save him, Pony falling to his death trying to stop that helicopter, searching for the Tonle Sap Water Snake in Cambodia, almost drowning, making the antidote at Harvard, learning to fly at MIT, flying the crop duster with Jake, and waking up in the Atlantic Ocean just in time to see Jake slip below the surface. She gave a shudder. All of that in one week? How had that been possible? She felt Jake's eyes on her.

"Can we talk?" she asked tentatively.

Jake had wanted to hear nothing but these words ever since he had tucked her in bed the previous day. He and Dan had flipped a coin to see who got to talk to her first, he had won, much to Dan's chagrin.

They silently left the room, side by side and walked downstairs. Amy steered toward the backyard and gardens beyond. Jake snuck a glance over at her. He had played this impending conversation over in his mind and he figured it would go one of two ways. Either she would recant her confession right before sleep, claiming that she had been delusional and emotional and he would leave, never to return, or, he barely dared to hope: she had meant what she said and she really did love him and just had some strange way of showing it due to stress. He had prepared himself for both eventualities, just in case.

Once they were outside, Amy slowed her pace, Jake at her side. She took a deep breath and started in, not looking at him but rather focusing on the pebble path in front of them.

"Jake, I owe you an apology. Actually, I owe you about a million apologies. I'm so sorry for the way I've treated you these last few weeks. You bore the brunt of my stress and anger and that wasn't fair to do to you." She glanced sideways at him and he glanced back, but said nothing. He knew she had far more to say.

"I've been so scared, so scared of losing you that I figured it was better to make you mad at me and live, than have you die because you cared." She looked back at the pebble path, "I couldn't live with myself if anything ever happened to you. I thought that if I pushed you away hard enough, you'd leave, live out your life safe and alive, but all I ended up doing was making both of us so irritated and stressed."

Beside her, Jake gave a small breath and a grin began to creep onto his face. This gave Amy the confidence to say what she'd been holding back. She turned to face him now.

"Jake, the truth is, if you really knew how I felt, you'd have done something stupid to keep me from going off on my own all those times. There is nobody I'd rather fight with, nobody I'd rather be infuriated by or stand beside than you. Dan helped me realize that the greatest things we've ever done, we've done together. That's true for us, too. The greatest things we've accomplished, we've done together, you and me." Amy said misty-eyed.

Jake took her hands, his own eyes tearing up.

Amy wasn't done, "I need you Jake, but more than that, I _like_ you. I like that you always seem to be on the same wave length as me. I like that you constantly surprise me. I like how _ridiculously _smart you are. I like how my well-being is always at the top of your radar-well, second, I guess, right under Atticus'."

Jake smiled, "You're tied for first,"

Amy smiled, "I like how I don't always have to be strong around you. I like that you make me reevaluate my priorities, and Jake, I like how you always love me, even when you say you don't."

Amy stopped speaking and just studied Jake's reaction. He was emotional. His face had gone red and his lower lip was quivering. His tears were about to spill over and she could tell he needed a moment, so she added,

"Oh, and, there is most definitely 'a thing' between us." She added light-heartedly. "I mean, come on, any idiot can see it."

That had done it. Jake's face broke into a wide grin and he sniffed. He wiped at one eye. He wrapped his arms around Amy and pulled her into him.

"I'm so glad to hear you say this. I've been playing out this conversation in my head the last day and a half and I was afraid you were going to say it's over."

"No Jake, It's not over. I don't ever want it to be over." Amy said into his shoulder as he held her tight.

"Then promise me something, right now." Jake said pulling away so he could see her face.

"Anything."

"Promise me you'll start trusting me? I know you don't want anything to happen to me, but Amy, did you ever stop to think about what any of _us_ would be going through if something happened to you?" Jake's eyes volleying between her eyes. "You weren't the only one scared. Watching what that serum was doing to you? Unable to really tell you what I was feeling, knowing you didn't want to hear it? That was the hardest thing I think I've ever had to do. Then, on the plane-do you even remember what happened? Your body just shut down. I barely got the antidote to you before you died! I thought you had! Then, the plane crashed and I was trying to swim for both of us. I couldn't let you drown. I was ready to die with you rather than let you go."

Jake looked down and closed his eyes momentarily. Amy could feel his raw emotion. He was laying his soul bare, asking her a question that no one else would ever be asked by him. This was a level of intimacy they needed to reach if they had any hope at a future.

He looked up at her with determination in his eyes. "No more secrets between us. Total trust. It's the only way forward."

Amy studied his somber look and took a breath. He was asking her to do the hardest thing in the world; trust him completely. "You got it. I'm in. Total trust between us, from now on. No more secrets. No more hiding behind fear. We're in this together, no matter what comes, we'll face it together. That's what love requires, isn't it? Total trust?"

Jake's somber face slowly, slowly, changed into a grin. "Love is total trust. Unequivocal."

"Then I love you, Jake. Unequivocally." Amy said her own grin starting to sneak onto her features.

He dipped, picked her up around the waist and lifted her in the air so their faces were level. "And I love you, just like I always have and can't wait to, in the future; our future."

He kissed her and she kissed him back. It was the first kiss either of them had exchanged in half a year. It felt at once both new, and familiar. She wanted to stop time and stay like this with him forever. She breathed in his familiar scent and it felt so comforting, so peaceful. Goosebumps formed on her skin despite the warm air around them.

Jake was experiencing similar reactions to his newly-reinstated girlfriend. As he lifted her, the warm May air blew her hair around their faces and the strands tickled his neck. It was wonderful. The smell of her, the feel of her in his arms, it was perfect. He didn't want this feeling to ever end.

As he slowly set her back on her feet, an idea that had been percolating in the back of his mind made its way to the forefront. "Amy, I've been thinking, what if we all took some time off? You and Dan have both mentioned that you want to quit the family and, well, Att and I have been through a lot in the last two years."

Amy looked at him thoughtfully, "I've been thinking about this a lot. I told myself that if we managed to find the antidote and get rid of Pierce, Dan and I would disappear for a year; maybe longer, travel to some place where we could stop being 'Cahills' and just be two teenagers. Maybe go back to Meena Lapa, or somewhere quiet."

Jake smiled, "I was thinking something similar for Att and me. We never really had time to get over mom's death, then all this with the Vespers and Pierce happened. I think we've earned some time off too. Maybe we can meet up with Dad and help him, or just travel Europe, maybe backpack across the Alps?"

Amy smiled at him and turned toward the mansion, "then it's a plan," but Jake stopped her.

He pulled her back toward her and had a knowing smile on his face. "I'm not quite done with you. I've waited months to do this," he said linking her hands behind his head and snaking his arms around her waist. Together they stood in the shade of Amy's favorite oak tree and kissed.


	2. New Year's Eve

_Rome, Italy_

"Let's walk," Jake said to Amy, offering her his hand and pulling her up from the couch. They had been watching New Year's Eve coverage from the Rosenbloom brother's apartment in the center of Rome. Amy hadn't understood a word of the Italian, but knew many of the famous singers, including her famous cousin, Jonah Wizard, who had just finished his set and was leaving the stage. Dan and Atticus were mid-binge on junk food and non-alcoholic champagne while wearing ridiculous glasses and hats proclaiming the incoming year. They were live streaming with Hamilton and Phoenix. They couldn't have cared less that Jake and Amy were getting coats, hats and gloves on. A light snow had begun to fall outside and it seemed so romantic.

Jake lead her down the mostly deserted street that edged their building. Most people were in pubs or on the _via dei Fori Imperiali _next to the colosseum. "I just needed some time alone with you," he said, holding her hand and giving her one of his sideways looks.

He was the best boyfriend, no doubt about it. He had cooked them all dinner and they had had candles and the nice china out tonight. He had put a lot of thought into her visit.

"I'm glad you wanted to walk, I'm not sure how much more belching from fake champagne I could handle." Amy said smiling at Jake. He squeezed her hand and led her toward a small park with a stream that ran through it. The winter air was damp and Amy tugged on her zipper a little higher against the cold. Jake noticed and stopped.

"Are you too cold, we can go back if you'd rather."

"No, I like being out here with you." Amy said. She meant it. Ever since they had defeated the Vespers Amy had been doing a lot of thinking…and mourning. They had lost so many people; Alistair, Natalie, Erasmus, Macintyre…Evan. Amy felt like she had done nothing but go to funerals ever since October. When Jake had suggested that she and Dan come to Rome for the holidays, she hadn't been sure. It felt so weird to be doing something normal like celebrating holidays, or visiting her boyfriend, but it had been just what she and Dan needed. She'd been racked with guilt over the decisions she made as the head of the family and the deaths that ultimately resulted from those decisions. Seeing Jake and being around his infectious personality had shown her just a glimpse of what could be.

"What is it?" Jake said with concern on his chiseled face.

Amy gave a deep sigh and a sad smile, "I just feel so torn all the time. One part of me feels guilty about everyone who died, and part of me wants to move on and have a normal life, with you." She looked up into Jake's eyes. He was giving her that piercing, searching look he did.

"None of that is your fault Ames, you couldn't have stopped their deaths. You aren't responsible for any of them. They did what they did because they wanted to, not because you asked them to." Jake said, taking both of Amy's hands in his.

"That's not true. I specifically told Erasmus to check out that Vesper stronghold. I sent him to his death." Amy said but Jake was already shaking his head.

"Amy, he was probably already in that building before he ever got your text. He was a pro, and he knew what he was doing. He would have gone in there even if you hadn't said yes." Jake said, taking their joined hands and putting them on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat through her hands. It was so steady and even; so alive.

"And as long as we're talking about guilt, you have to let Evan's death go. You didn't cause it; I don't care what his mother said to you. I was there, he came of his own will." Here, Jake bent his head down closer to hers. He was looking at her intently, his eyes volleying between hers. These next words cost him a lot, she could tell, "He came…because he loved you. He would be disappointed that you're still beating yourself up over his death. It diminishes his worth in the fight Amy. Don't steal that from him. He knew the risks, and he came anyway-that's love."

Amy paused, unsure what to say, "Jake, I was going to dump him…but I loved him, too! Why is this all so confusing?" Amy said, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning in, hard. Silent tears started leaking down her face. Jake took a deep breath and put one hand on the back of her head and pulled her tight, the other around her back.

They stood like this for several minutes while Amy just cried. Jake said nothing but held her tight. Amy became aware that she was crying all over his coat. She pulled away and began to wipe her eyes. Jake looked down at her and wiped the tears from her face.

"Amy, I know I can't grieve for you and I'm not going to try and cheer you up. I know you need to feel this for a while and I've been trying to figure out how I can help you through this, so here goes." Jake said, taking a big breath. "You are my _everything_. I love you Amy Cahill and I always will. You're the most amazing, clever, introspective, thoughtful and beautiful woman I've ever met. I can't solve this for you, but I can wait for you on the other side. I know you need your time to heal and process your grief, but when you're ready, I'll be here. I want to know everything about you," at this, Jake brushed a hand along her jawline, "I want to know you intimately, and hopefully I can be your everything too."

Amy could feel her face going red at his words. As the great city began to cheer the moment of the New Year, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him. She wanted this too and it was just the glimpse of the future she needed.


	3. Att and Amy

Atticus Rosenbloom had three friends on the planet: His brother, Jake, his best friend, Dan and Dan's sister, Amy who was part friend, part sister, part mentor and, part crush. 13-year-old Atticus' had recently started at Harvard along with his brother and Amy. Atticus and Amy were both freshmen, though Amy was 18 and a traditional student, where as he was a child-prodigy and a bonified genius with a 200 IQ. Atticus, Jake, Dan and Amy had spent the better part of the last two years together and he often thought of the four of them as siblings, though, for Amy and Jake, that analogy wasn't exactly right since they were dating. Att didn't care, it felt wonderful to have all of his friends surrounding him all the time. He had never felt more wanted and cared for in his life. They actually liked him and never treated him like some freak of nature like most of the kids his own age.

Amy had enrolled in _Intro to Latin_ and needed a study partner. Jake had suggested Atticus take on the job since he was a Latin scholar in his own right. So, every Tuesday evening, Amy ordered pizza and she and Atticus holed up in the library at Attleboro and he helped her study. Atticus would rather have died than admit that Tuesday evenings were his favorite night in the whole world. How many 13-year-old boys had the chance to spend two hours with an 18-year-old girl every single week? Amy had told him he was funny, and smart and once, she had even called him wise. He could see why Jake had fallen, hard, for her. She was easy to like and she was super smart. Atticus had also spent the better part of that summer in the pool with her and the others before semester started and he liked watching her in her bikini; yet another thing he would rather die than admit to Jake.

The doorbell rang and Att could hear Amy padding down the marble steps toward the front door. He raced after her. They had a standard pizza order Tuesday night; pepperoni and pineapple.

"Did you get it? Our specialty?" Att asked as he ran.

"Yes, and meat lovers for the boys." Amy said, paying the driver.

"woohoo!" Att said taking the pineapple pizza from her. "Meet you in the library!" He said taking off back up the staircase.

Amy delivered the pizza to the kitchen where Jake was reading.

"I'm off to study," she said, giving his cheek a quick kiss.

"Don't let him get too cozy with you," Jake said absently as he read his book.

Amy stopped, "what?" she said.

Jake looked up. "I said 'don't let him get too cozy with you.'"

"I heard you, I just don't understand you." Amy said.

"Ames, Att has a little crush on you. I was teasing you." Jake said, returning to his book.

"He does?" Amy asked incredulously. _How had she missed this?_

"You haven't noticed?" Jake asked, looking up again. "He follows you around and if you're at the pool, he's out there in a flash. Didn't you ever stop to wonder why a kid who is half African-American wants to work on his tan so much?"

Amy blushed, "I did think that was strange, but I guess I thought he just liked the sun." she finished lamely.

Jake chuckled lightly, "He likes looking at the sun-on your skin in that bikini you wear. Of course, so do _I_."

"Oh great, now I have both Rosenbloom brothers falling for me!" Amy felt her face going red.

Jake put down his book and looked at her, "Amy, you have to let him have this crush on you. It's harmless and it's good for him. Better to have a crush on you; someone safe and comfortable, than say, on some crazy celebrity who's unapproachable. Think of it as…research. He's researching the female species, through you."

Amy laughed, "Leave it to a scientist to remove all sentiment from a boy's first crush."

Jake laughed too, "Think about it Ames, you're 18, beautiful, and you think he's pretty awesome. Any 13-year-old boy would be crushing on a girl that cared about him that much!"

Amy thought about that, "Ok, yeah, you're right. I'm flattered." Amy said, smiling at Jake.

She gave him a light peck on the lips before turning to go upstairs. Jake smiled as he watched her go.

Atticus was finishing up his second slice of pizza when Amy entered. She watched him closely as she took a seat opposite the table from him and picked up her own slice of pizza. A smile crept up on her lips as she remembered Jake's words: _you have to let him have this crush on you. It's harmless and good for him. Think of it as research. He's researching the female species through you._

"Ok, tonight we get into first and second declension adjectives and if we're lucky, then we'll get into prepositions before moving on to verbs next Tuesday." Atticus said opening her text books and spinning them around to face her.

Amy sighed, "Thanks again, Atticus, languages aren't easy for me. I appreciate your help."

Atticus blushed under his brown skin, "you're welcome. I like helping you. It makes me feel important somehow."

They settled down to work and work they did. An hour and a half later, Amy had decided declensions were much harder than she first thought and she was ready for a break from them.

"Amy, I promise when you go to learn any of the romantic languages these will show back up in the forms of the verbs and it'll make much more sense then." Atticus said, leaning back to stretch in his chair.

"If you say so." Amy said, shutting her books and rubbing her eyes. When she opened them, Atticus was smiling at her.

Amy made to pick up the empty pizza box but Att beat her to it. "I'll get this. I can make sure it gets in the trash."

"Thanks, Att, and thanks for helping me study." She said, turning to go back toward her bedroom.

"Any time," Att said, standing and watching her go.


	4. Lunch date

Amy walked into the stadium-style classroom mid-lecture. The lights were turned down and the screen was on. She found a seat near the back and quietly sat down. She was easily drawn into the presenter's lecture as it was a subject she found interesting; ancient Roman artifacts. She had some experience with this subject, and the presenter knew a lot about it. He clicked a new slide onto the screen and started in on the most famous ancient Roman structure; the colosseum. Amy smiled. This is where they had met. She let her mind drift back to that day five years earlier. She could still picture seeing him for the first time; tall, artfully windswept hair, muscular…and arrogant. Can't forget that. She gave a small sniff and smile at the memory. He had acted like a bad smell had reached him when she and her younger brother had shown up, cutting in line to join them at the entrance.

_If I had only known then what I know now_, she thought to herself. It had all been a defense mechanism she knew. He had been dealing with a lot and his walls had been up. His mother had recently died, his little brother was in his care full time and he had a distant father who was dealing with grief in his own, distant way. Amy's smile faded, _and I drew them both into the mess that Dan and I live with every day_.

They had been through a lot in their five years. They had briefly started dating, but then broke up when Amy told him she didn't love him, which was a lie, to protect him from ending up like…Evan. Her first boyfriend. Evan's smile swam in her memory. That's all that was left of Evan, a memory. She couldn't bear to lose another boyfriend the way she had Evan. That grief was so horrible.

In a way, breaking up had been the thing that had saved their relationship. After Amy took the serum, Jake had refused to leave her side eventually administering the antidote himself as their plane crash landed in the Atlantic. Amy had been minutes away from death. Later, he had told her that he had been moments away from drowning because he refused to let her die. She knew then that he loved her and could never leave her. She spent nearly a year just recovering in obscurity with her brother before agreeing to move back home and start at Harvard with him. And here they were; doing day to day life together and growing closer by the moment. He flipped the lights on and dismissed everyone with an assignment reminder and a smile. Amy made to get up, but the room was so crowded she decided to wait while they left. She pulled out her phone and went to check Instagram when a nearby conversation caught her attention.

"Just go talk to him!" a female voice said in a forced whisper.

"He is so hot, he has to have a girlfriend," said a second whispered voice.

"Or a wife," said a third girl.

"Uh, do you see a ring? Because I don't." said the first

"What if he's gay?" asked the second.

"Only one way to find out," said the first.

Amy watched their eyes as they traveled back up to the front of the room where her boyfriend, Jake Rosenbloom, graduate student who taught this class, was putting away the equipment and packing his bag to go. Amy was amused. She went back to her Instagram so she wouldn't draw attention to herself and pretended to struggle with her bag.

"Seriously, Kaylee, go talk to him. You've been pining after this guy for a month now and I'm so sick of it. If you don't, I will!" said the first voice.

"Well, wait a minute," said the second voice, clearly Kaylee, panic beginning to creep up into her voice, "what do we even know about this guy?"

"WHO CARES! He's the hottest guy any of us knows!" said the third voice, to which all three of them started giggling.

"You guys, he's our teacher, isn't that kind of, like, gross?" said Kaylee to her friends.

Amy had to smile at this. No way would she have worked up the nerve to talk to Jake, much less ask a grad student out on a date if she didn't already know him. He _was_ a bit intimidating. She had to give props to these 18-year-old girls.

Jake was about to leave and when he looked up into the seating, he'd see Amy any second, it was now or never.

"Are you guys talking about Jake?" Amy asked innocently.

All three heads whipped around to stare at her. They each took measure of Amy: older, probably 20 or 21, long reddish-brown stick straight hair, lean, t-shirt, ripped jean shorts and sandals, no make-up except a little lip gloss. No threat detected.

"Yes!" exclaimed the first girl, "what do you know about him?"

The other two looked at her intently, excited.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jake walking up the center aisle now, having spotted her. She reached down and got her bag and hitched it up to her shoulder, phone in her hand.

"Quite a bit, actually," Amy said turning to face Jake who was only a few steps away now. She gave him a big smile as he reached her.

"Hi, I didn't expect to see you here!" he said nuzzling right up to her and reaching out his hand for hers.

"I thought I'd take you to lunch." She said smiling and giving him a quick kiss before turning to the girls.

Amy gave the three a small smile before turning to leave with Jake. Jake noticed the three and said, "see you three on Thursday, yeah?" He inclined his eyebrows at the three and flashed them a big smile. Then he turned to Amy and gave her a wink before they walked out of the lecture hall with the three girls' mouths hanging open in shock.


	5. Northern Lights

Jake was packed, suitcase next to him on his bed. He had a small box open on the bed next him while he was twirling the contents around and around on his index finger. The small platinum ring had been in his possession for weeks now just waiting for the right moment to give it to its eventual owner.

Amy. His thoughts drifted to his girlfriend of 5 years. A smile crept onto his face as he watched the ring twirl. He had booked this trip as a way to celebrate her finishing undergrad at Harvard with a major in Classics. Graduation was still 6 weeks away, which he was hoping would disguise his real reason for taking her to Norway. He was going to propose to her. He had wanted to for a few years now, but he felt it was finally the right time.

He sighed as he tilted the ring so it hit the light. He read the inscription on the outside of the ring as he twirled it. It was two words repeated over and over.

ارتفع في ازهر كاهيل ارتفع في ازهر كاهيل ارتفع في ازهر كاهيل

_Cahill Rosenbloom Cahill Rosenbloom Cahill Rosenbloom_

He had decided on Arabic partly because of the beauty of the writing, but partly because Amy had chosen a minor in Arabic and she really needed a lot of help with it, so many of their nights were spent cramming Arabic together. It had been fun and exasperating at the same time. Jake smiled at the memory of their most recent Arabic study session. Amy had thrown her half-full water bottle at him when he teased her just a little bit too long.

He glanced at his phone, it was time to go. He carefully placed he ring back in its box and zipped it into his luggage then grabbed his bag and headed downstairs. Amy had been packed since last night and he grabbed her bag as he headed out the bedroom door. She would be heading back to the house from class any moment. Dan had agreed to drive them to the airport. As he rounded the staircase and made for the main floor the front door flew open and a windswept Amy blew in. The cold March air swirled around the foyer. She dropped her backpack and slipped off her snow boots. He reached the foyer and smiled at her. She quick shuffled over to him and planted a kiss on his lips.

"I need about 5 minutes, then I'll be ready." She said as she blew past him and took the stairs two at a time all while pulling off her sweater over her head as she went.

"You know Norway is cold, right?" Jake shouted up the stairway after her.

True to her word, 5 minutes later Amy reemerged from their bedroom with hair brushed, fresh make-up on and a pretty, feminine sweater over her tank. Jake gave her raised eyebrows, "I like this one so much better," Amy offered simply.

Hand in hand, they walked out to the Mercedes-Benz Dan had warmed up on the curb. Jake drove and Amy sat shotgun while Dan was on his phone in the back. He was happy to drive them to the airport. He knew all about Jake's plan to propose; so did Atticus. They had caught Jake twirling the ring outside one afternoon and he had spilled the beans. To be honest, Dan was surprised Jake had waited this long. He'd been in love with his sister ever since he was 18. That had been 6 years ago even though they'd only been dating for 5.

Dan had his thoughts on someone of his own. Elin Möller, a new molecular science student at MIT from Sweden who Dan offered to show around the chemistry lab. She was an angel; white blonde hair, light blue eyes, and six feet tall with a body like a super model. Almost every single male in the lab had offered to show Elin around, but she had picked his hand out of the crowd. They texted each other several times each day, but they hadn't actually gone out on a date yet.

Dan was precisely as good looking as his older sister now. At 19, Dan was 6'2", had sandy blonde hair and the same deep green eyes as his sister. He had also been working out for three years at Amy's insistence and was pretty jacked; not as much as Jake, but honestly, a guy didn't need to live at the gym like he and Amy did every morning at 5:00 am.

He texted her just now, "Class go OK for u today?"

She texted right back, "Ya. U?"

Dan smiled, he could picture her saying this with her Swedish accent, "Y. I'm taking my sister and her boo to the airport. Norway. He's going to pop the question."

Elin wrote back, "Norway is shit. Sweden. Only way to go." She had included an emoji of a face with heart-eyes and the Swedish flag.

Dan smiled. Now was as good a time as any, "U want to go out sometime?"

Elin responded right away with a 'praying hands' emoji, "I thought you were never going to ask me."

Dan couldn't hide the smile or laugh on his face from the back seat. He let out a small laugh and bit his lip as he looked out the side window. Jake noticed and looked in the rear-view mirror. "What's up?" he said with a smile of his own to match Dan's.

"Oh nothing. Nothing." Dan said, looking back down at the praying hands Elin had sent. She really wanted to go out with him. This was good news. He thought about it some more, trying to think of the best place to take her. He wanted to go tonight. Was that too fast? He didn't want to look desperate, but then again, she had put the praying hands, not him. Maybe she was excited too? He didn't know. Amy and Jake would know though. No time like the present. Better to just get their opinion. It meant explaining Elin, but he didn't really care. He wasn't ashamed.

"Hey guys, um, what would you think if your crush asked you out at 2:33 in the afternoon for a date that night? Is that weird? Or is that cool?" Dan said looking quizzical in the back seat.

Amy and Jake glanced at the dash clock. 2:33 pm. Amy glanced sideways at Jake and he shot Dan a look in the rearview mirror.

"Who is she Dan?" Jake asked, cutting right to the chase. Amy whipped around in her seat to see Dan properly.

Dan was rethinking his question a little too late. "Oh, um, just, ya' know…" Dan started, still staring at his phone, but when he looked up, he saw Jake's intent look in the mirror and Amy was leaning around the front seat practically staring bug-eyed at him. Dan let out a long slow breath, "oh man." There was no hiding this from them. They had been house-mates for the last five years and they all knew each other too well to pull something over on these two.

"She's my chemistry lab partner. New this semester, from Sweden. Name is Elin Möller. She's a goddess and she wants to go out with me."

Jake and Amy gave completely opposite reactions from the front seat. Jake pumped his fist into the air and shouted, "YES!" and reached back for a fist bump from Dan. Amy got a small frown on her face and looked at Dan intently while staying quiet. She was always cautious about girls showing interest in Dan. He was the only member of the vast Cahill empire to know the formula for the 39 clues serum. If someone really wanted it from Dan, all they'd have to do was set a honey-trap for him.

While Amy brewed on this new girl, Jake was giving his best advice for a first date, despite the fact that he'd never been on one with Amy. Dan was starting to light up in the back seat. Amy quietly slipped her phone out of her bag and texted Atticus who was at Cambridge headquarters.

"Att, I need you to run a name through the database: Elin Möller, Sweden, approx 18 years old. ASAP"

Amy sat back and let the boys talk date strategy, dinner plans and what to wear. It was fun seeing Dan and Jake bond over this girl. She just hoped it was for real and not some play. Atticus' reply came back fast.

"Old news, Amy. Dan's crush. Must be finally telling you about her."

Amy was annoyed. "Just tell me what you know." As an aside, she added, "please."

Atticus' response was slow coming. Finally, "Clear, she's an Ekat from a very remote branch of the Cahill tree. Comes from engineer parents and a brother at University of Oslo."

Amy smiled and replied, "thx." She turned around in her seat to face Dan.

"Um Dan, I asked Atticus to run her name through the database. She's an Ekat from a very remote branch of the Cahill tree. Comes from engineer parents and a has a brother at the University of Oslo."

"Thank you very much Nancy Drew. I already looked her up, you could have just asked me." Dan said, annoyed.

Jake had gotten very quiet all of a sudden, realizing this would always be Amy's first response when it came to her brother; only after he was safe would she lighten up and let him have fun.

Amy had the sense to look sheepish, "Sorry, I just had to be sure. I wasn't trying to ruin your date, I was just worried, that's all."

Dan wanted to say more, but he just rolled his eyes and smiled.

Jake pulled up to the curb at Logan International. He and Amy quickly got their bags and gave Dan a quick hug good-bye. As Dan hugged Jake he whispered, "good luck," and Jake whispered, "you too, can't wait to hear how it goes." Then Dan drove away.

Amy and Jake had 8 long hours on the plane, but thankfully Jake had sprung for first class. All those airline miles flying to and from archeology dig sites had added up. Their flight to Oslo was uneventful and they checked into their suite at the Hotel Continental around 7 am. They were exhausted so they decided to get a few hours of sleep before they tried to acclimate to their new environment. The suite was plush and upscale. It overlooked downtown Oslo and they even had their own balcony; too bad it was so cold outside.

Amy woke up a little before 11 to a note on Jake's pillow.

A-

I went to the market to get us some lunch. Be back soon.

-J

PS-You look gorgeous sleeping.

Amy smiled. Jake had been extra affectionate ever since they left Boston. He had wanted to hold her hand the whole flight and nuzzle her neck. When they had gone to sleep earlier this morning, he spooned right up next to her and pulled her tight against him. Amy brushed back a strand of her hair thinking of him. She stripped off her light weight cami and pulled on her heaviest sweater she brought and boy shorts. She made some tea and was standing at the balcony doors looking out over Oslo when Jake returned with all sorts of food.

"Good Morning," he said smiling at her. He walked over and gave her a quick kiss before dropping his food bags on the coffee table. "Ok, I hope you're hungry. I bought everything I thought looked good. I'm starved."

She smiled at him. He was so enjoying this.

"I have pickled herring and crackers, blue cheese and olives, grapes and strawberries, I got us some Norwegian soda, and, just for you," he held this last item out with a flourish, "Milka chocolates."

"I can't believe you remembered!" Amy said taking the purple wrapped candies from him and popping one in her mouth.

"Personally, I think Milka is a crime against the food gods, but, you seem to really like it, so, anything for my baby." Jake said smiling as in defeat.

They sat and ate while they talked, "Did you get enough sleep?" Jake asked spooning some fish on a cracker.

"No, but it's OK. I don't want to miss Oslo, so we'll stay awake as long as we can, then just crash tonight." Amy replied popping two Kalamata olives in her mouth at the same time. "What do you have planned today?"

"Nothing" Jake replied helping himself to a strawberry. "I don't have anything planned at all this whole week. We do what we want, when we want, for as long as we want. I figure we just wake up each day and decide then what we want to do."

Amy was silent for a moment. This from the guy who had his entire college plan worked out while he was a freshman in high school. The guy who made more plans in a week than Dan would probably do in his entire life. This just wasn't how Jake operated-at all.

He must have sensed her shock, "What?" he said around a mouthful of food.

"Nothing. I just am surprised at you. You rarely go without a plan, that's all." Amy replied smiling.

Jake fixed his smug grin in place. "Well, it's not entirely without a plan, I mean, I picked a thriving European capital full of art, music, culture, food and some of the most amazing scenery known to planet earth. I'm pretty sure we'll find something to do while we're here."

Amy gave him a slow nod. "There it is. I knew you were in there somewhere." She said noting his sarcasm getting up and heading for the shower. Jake snorted and started to follow her.

By the end of the first full day, they had acclimated to the time difference and the weather. They spent the second and third days walking around Oslo, going to the museums and eating at some amazing places along the way. Oslo was a truly international city and they had their pick of international cuisine. Jake woke Amy up every morning with a sweet note on his pillow while he went and ordered them breakfast. Amy was starting to get a little suspicious because even for Jake, this was out of the ordinary. He was an affectionate boyfriend and always told her how he felt about her but this was more than usual.

That night Jake had gotten them tickets to the Oslo National Ballet to see _Anna Karenina_. Amy had never been to the ballet before and Jake insisted that she get a new dress to wear. They spent some time on

Nedre Slottsgate at the high-end shops in the city centre. Amy left with an asymmetrical long sleeve black and gold Versace that Jake said was 'way hot'. He had packed his Tom Ford suit Ian had insisted he buy several years earlier and Amy thought he looked equally hot. Together they made quite the pair. After an amazing dinner of Ossobuco with risotto, wine and dessert, they were ready to head to the ballet. The Opera house was beautiful and the ballet was magnificent. Amy was moved to tears during the dramatic end of _Anna Karenina_, which surprised her. Jake noticed and offered her a tissue. He leaned over and whispered, "I love you," just as the house lights came back on.

The Oslo Opera House overlooked the _Inner Oslofjord_, and it was a slightly warmer March night. Bundled up against the cold, both Amy and Jake walked along the boardwalk, hand in hand. Jake bumping his shoulder against hers. Just then, Amy looked up into the night sky and gasped.

"Look!"

Jake's head whipped from her to the spot in the sky she was staring at; the Northern Lights were dancing a serpentine shape of turquoise and jade green across the sky. They both stopped and simply stared at this magnificent sight. He wrapped both of his arms around her and pulled her tight to him.

"Amy, I have to tell you something." He grabbed both her hands in his, fixing his gaze intently on her green eyes. "When I met you at the colosseum all those years ago, never would I have imagined my life would have turned out the way it has. We've been through so much together."

Amy nodded.

"The one constant over all those years has been my love for you. You are my rock, my shelter, my whole world."

Amy's pulse quickened. He was finally going to do it. Jake had told her at least once every year that they _'should get married'_, but he had never actually proposed to her. Now it seemed he was going to do it properly this time.

Jake continued, "I have loved every second of our life together. We don't always agree, but, I love that about you too. You aren't afraid to speak up when you think I'm wrong and you don't take any crap from me. You add deeper colors to my world and give me strength to tackle anything-sometimes literally if it involves your family." Jake smiled and this comment made Amy laugh.

"I love making you laugh. It's one of my favorite joys in life."

Amy smiled, "I love that you can make me laugh." She extended one of her gloved hands to touch the side of his face.

"Amy," Jake pulled off his glove, dug something out of his pocket and made to genuflect in front of her, "will you marry me?"

Amy's hearing had gone white. She couldn't hear anything besides the beating of her fast heartbeat. She noticed several couples nearby now pointing at them and smiling. She became aware that she was shaking. She had to calm down. She found Jake's face swimming in front of her and focused on his handsome features.

She slowly began to nod, all while crying, finally squeaking out, "Yes!"

Jake stood and slipped a beautiful platinum band with an inscription encircling it on her finger then enveloped her in a deep hug.

"You've made me the happiest man on earth, Amy Hope Cahill."


	6. Atticus' dilemma

Jake Rosenbloom came into the office and dropped his backpack on the armchair by the door. He unzipped it and pulled out his laptop. He made his way around to the sleek metal desk in the room and plunked himself down in the Aeron chair Amy had bought for him. Just as he was booting the laptop up, his younger brother gave a grunt from the corner of the room. Atticus had managed to find the one streak of sunlight coming in the window and situated himself in it, just like Saladin.

He looked different these days. He had recently cut off his dreadlocks he had worn the previous decade and updated his glasses to a much sleeker black design. He was wearing his hair close to his scalp now, no longer than a ½ inch. He had also had a growth spurt in the last six months and he was nearly as tall as Jake now, though he had a gaunt-look like playdoh pulled too far in one direction.

At 16, Atticus had long surpassed Jake with academics and was now applying for post-graduate school. He had finished up his undergraduate degree in only two years and graduate school in one. 23-year-old Jake was working on his Master's degree in anthropology with an emphasis on archeology; just like his father had done. Jake really did share his father's passions for discovering ancient civilizations. Both boys now lived full time with Dan and Amy Cahill in West Cambridge, Massachusetts, just off Harvard's main campus. Dan Cahill was Atticus' oldest friend and current student at MIT. They had met years earlier online in a gaming room and had been fast friends ever since.

Jake had a photo on his desk of him smiling next to a pretty girl as they overlooked a snow-covered mountain in Norway. Dan's sister, Amy was Jake's long-time girlfriend. Jake had taken her there on vacation last spring and he had asked her to marry him. They were planning on tying the knot next summer. They all lived together in the Cahill Cambridge headquarters that Amy had created when she had taken over as head of the family. She was entering her fourth and final year of that responsibility. After her term, Dan would take over. Other than a few nicks and scratches, things had been quiet lately, for which Atticus was very grateful.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked, squinting at Atticus

"I'm supposed to respond to this question: _Extrapolate on Priapus as a preeminent Greek Mythological figure and his contributions to Early Greek culture as well as his lasting impact_." Atticus said rolling his eyes.

"What's wrong with that?" Jake asked, trying to stifle a grin. Priapus was the Greek God of sex; a subject Atticus didn't generally enjoy discussing.

"Well, I don't get it." Atticus said leaning back on his chair.

"Att, this is easy for you. You know all about Greek Mythology. You could probably bust that essay out in 15 minutes-_in Latin_-if you wanted to." Jake offered, getting himself situated and pulling out his water bottle before firing up the laptop. He had a lot to do this afternoon.

"It's not the essay, it's the subject." Atticus said frustration building in his voice. "Jake, I've been wondering lately if there's something wrong with me. I'm pretty sure guys my age are thinking about sex non-stop, only, I don't, and I don't even seem to care!"

Jake shut his laptop and stared at his brother. He had been wondering if they were going to have a discussion like this someday. Astrid had talked with Jake about sex a lot and he had felt a little uncomfortable at first but then it became any other subject for the two of them. He wanted to be there for Att just like she had, but Att was right, most boys of 16 were mega-horny. He himself had been and maybe that was why Astrid had started her talks with him at 13.

"This is bothering you, isn't it?" Jake asked quietly.

"Yeah." Att said dejectedly staring at the sunlit patch of carpet in the room.

Jake got up and walked over to his brother, sitting in the chair opposite him. "Att, your brain isn't like most peoples; You're mega-genius level. It makes sense that you'd not focus on the normal trappings of being a teenage boy. You're not missing a lot, let me tell you." Jake said light heartedly, hoping to raise Atticus' spirits. It did not. Atticus simply frowned at his brother.

"Jake, you've always been so easy around women, so is dad. I wish I was wired like that. I don't think girls even notice me." Atticus said with shoulders slumped.

Jake sighed and watched his brother. It was true, Jake had a very natural flirtation with the opposite sex. He caught girls on campus watching him all the time and he suspected that his 2:30 undergrad _Intro to Anthropology_ class he taught was full simply so girls could stare at him.

"Let me ask you this, when you walk across campus and a group of girls is walking in front of you, what do you notice about them?"

Att frowned, "I don't know, their legs I suppose."

"What do you notice about their legs?" Jake asked, leaning forward on his knees.

"I guess the curves and how smooth they are." Atticus said, looking up at Jake. Jake was smiling now.

"Anything else you notice as they walk?" Jake said with a smile creeping onto his face.

Atticus smiled slowly, "well, Dan and I were talking about how girls seem to have magic butts. They jiggle just the right way."

Jake smiled, "especially when they wear yoga pants, right?"

Atticus looked up at him with eyes alight, "oh man, yoga pants are the most amazing invention." He trailed off getting a dreamy look in his eye.

Jake laughed, "that proves it, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"What do you mean?" Att said with concern.

"You have more in common with Priapus than you think," Jake said smiling and slapping a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Trust me, if Yoga pants had been around in Priapus' day, he would have had statues carved showing his love of those."

Atticus laughed. "Ok, so, maybe I do notice girls, but how do I get them to notice me? You're a master at that Jake!"

"Ok, first off, you're at a disadvantage because you're only 16 on a campus where the median age is hovering around 21. You may have to wait a while for your chronological age to catch up with your mental age."

Atticus huffed, "tell me something I don't already know."

Jake continued, "second, I practiced. A lot."

Atticus looked confused. "What do you mean you practiced? How do you practice?"

Jake looked away, gathering himself, he decided to give Atticus a taste of the 'Jake charm'. He leaned forward in his chair and gave Att one raised eyebrow and a signature wink, then he turned on the full power of the smoldering stare on his brother. "Hey, I couldn't help but notice you over here. May I join you?" he finished with a smile.

"Does that stuff really work?" Atticus said, his voice raising higher.

"Just ask Amy," Jake said with a smile.

"Amy?" Atticus said incredulously. "Don't you remember, I was there for almost all of your courtship? I saw you try to put the moves on her-she shot you down most of the time if I remember right."

Jake gave a sideways smile, "Yeah, but not every time. Proximity and time work wonders, Att. Plus, I didn't give up." Jake sat back and smiled, resting his hands behind his head, "I eventually wore her down."

Just then, Amy walked by in the hallway and Atticus called out to her. She stuck her head into the room and removed one earbud. "What's up?" She said smiling at the two brothers.

"Jake was helping me with my flirting techniques." Atticus said with a wan smile on his face.

"Oh?" Amy said with raised eyebrows, shooting a questioning look at Jake. This was the first overt interest Atticus had expressed about the opposite sex. _Better late than never I suppose_, Amy thought. "Do you have one you want to practice?"

Atticus laughed, "no, no, not yet. Jake was trying out his best line on me and I asked him if those really worked or not. He said to ask you."

Amy smiled as she walked into the office. "Ok, Rosenbloom, give me your best shot," she said playfully to Jake. Jake took this as a challenge worthy of a trophy. He walked right up to Amy and began to walk her backward toward the bookcases that lined the walls on every side. Amy had no choice but to back up until she bumped into the wall. She smiled slightly at Jake's physicality.

Jake gave her his best stare, a smile curled up on his left side and he stuck out his right hand to support himself on the bookcase as he leaned in to Amy. Their faces were 10 inches apart. He just looked at her for the longest time, finally, he spoke, "Hey," his smile widening.

"Hey" Amy said breathlessly back, a smile spreading on her face.

"What are doing later?" Jake said staring into her eyes, very intently.

Amy took a deep breath, she knew this was just an exercise for Atticus' benefit, but Jake was _so good_ at this that she found herself blushing in spite of herself. This was her fiancé for goodness sake!

"Nothin'. What did you have in mind?"

Jake gave that lopsided smile again and raised his left eyebrow, "Why don't we find out together. I'll pick you up at 8." Jake turned to Atticus, straightened up and said "Aaannnnddd, scene!"

Amy had to smile at the playfulness he had with Att. "What do you think?"

Atticus rubbed the back of his neck with his palm, "I felt like I shouldn't be in this room. Like I was intruding." Atticus' eyes traveled from Jake to Amy and back again. "You're good. Really good."

"It's all about confidence Att." Jake said, "I don't always feel confident, in fact, there are many days I don't, but I just push those feelings aside and just decide to go for it. If I fail, then I fail."

"He's right Att, when I was on the clue hunt, I had no confidence. None. The other teams could feel it too and they started laying traps for Dan and me because I second guessed my decisions. It didn't take me long to figure out that even if I was wrong, I was at least trying something, they were just waiting on me to make a move and then copy it. After the second or third time of our clue being stolen out of our grasp, I decided to be more confident from then on. I don't always know what is the best call, but I have to commit to it once I've made it." Amy said slipping her arms around Jake's waist.

He looked at her, love in his eyes, "It's one of the first things I noticed about her. Most girls I knew weren't that decisive."

"That, and the fact that I didn't swoon over you." Amy added, poking him in the ribs. "In fact, I kicked you."

"I remember that. We should have known then it was all over for you. Amy was the first girl who didn't fangirl over you Jake. She was making you work for it." Atticus said with a smile.

"Bottom line Atticus, just be yourself. Don't try too hard. If you like a girl, ask her out in your own way. Be confident in your decision. Confidence goes a long way in getting a girl to like you. If she says no, don't give up." Amy said to her future brother-in-law.


	7. Elin

Dan's schedule was pretty packed on Mondays and Fridays because those were the days he was assigned for chemistry lab. Lecture was Wednesday and he had been supremely miffed to find out he had 8:00 am lab. That was just pure bad luck, no way around it. He walked into lab bleary eyed after having left the Cahill headquarters in West Cambridge 30 minutes earlier and found a parking space out in the student lot of the MIT campus where he was a freshman; no good parking for him for a few more years. He rolled in only a few minutes before lab began and took the only available spots left; front row. Oh well, it didn't matter. His grad student instructor had begun to lay out the lab work for the day when the door opened and in walked the most beautiful girl Dan had ever seen. She was tall, easily as tall as he was and had a river of long white-blonde hair over her shoulders. She was thin and had the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. She smiled as she entered the lab. Dan couldn't look away. She walked up to the instructor and spoke quietly to him. Dan wished he could hear their conversation. The instructor nodded and gestured to the class. The girl asked another question to which the teacher nodded. He turned to everyone.

"Excuse me, class," He gestured to the beautiful blonde, "we have a new student with us, Elin Möller, who is studying here this semester from Sweden. She's asked if anyone would be willing to show her the lab and help her get acquainted here?" He asked, an amused expression on his face.

Before Dan even knew what had happened, he looked up to see his hand had shot up in the air without his approval. He looked around, it appeared that every available male in the room had followed suit. Their teacher gestured for Elin to pick a hand. She smiled right at Dan and pointed to him. Dan could feel his face going red as this goddess made her way over to sit next to him. _Was it getting hot in here?_ Dan's vision was starting to spin the closer she got to him.

"Hi, I'm Elin," she said in a Swedish accent, extending her hand to Dan.

"Dan," he said lamely, shaking her hand. He was lucky he remembered his name; she was even better looking up close! Dan felt his heart beating faster. All of a sudden, he was aware the teacher was talking again and he had better pay attention if he had to show Elin the ropes. They managed to make it through the lab and create the correct solution, but no thanks to Dan. He had been completely consumed with the smell, proximity and beauty of the sweet creature sitting inches from him. _Why did I put my hand in the air?_ He wondered. He hadn't remembered doing it, it just sort of sprang up on its own.

"Thank you for your help today," Elin said as the class all started moving to put equipment away and was beakers and test tubes at the sinks.

"Oh, no problem. Anytime." Dan said. "I can show you the supply room as soon as we're done, then you'll know where everything is stored." Dan internally rolled his eyes at this. _Duh, that's what a supply room is dummy, you don't need to explain its purpose. _

Elin smiled, "that would be great, thank you," she said.

As they made their way over to the sinks, she asked, "So, are you a first year also?"

Dan nodded, "Yes, I'm a freshman. I am in my first semester. Did you just get here from Sweden?" _My God she's pretty_, Dan thought.

"Yes, I had a little trouble with my student Visa, which is why I'm a few weeks late starting." Elin said rinsing out a test tube.

"What are you studying?" Dan asked, giving her a sideways look from the next sink.

"Molecular engineering," Elin answered, flipping the test tube over on a drying rack. She looked over at Dan and appraised him; sandy blonde hair, green eyes, tall, at least six feet, maybe more. He had a nice smile. His hand had shot up first when the teacher had asked about helping her. Either he was very altruistic, or he had liked what he saw. Either way, Elin smiled inside at the thought.

Dan was done washing and was waiting for her. She caught him watching her. When she looked at him, he looked away, reddening.

"What are you studying?" she asked, walking next to him toward a door at the back of the lab.

"I'm not really sure yet. Some sort of science. My dad was a non-linear particle physicist, but to be honest, I'm not really sure what that is," Dan said chuckling to himself. He looked over at Elin. She was smiling and looking at him.

"Well, this is the supply room," Dan said a bit lamely. "over here we have dry ingredients, including powders and on this side are the solutions. He walked around and showed her some of the more common supplies.

As they made their way back to the lab, Elin asked, "So, will I see you in lecture Wednesday?" looking at him.

Dan stood up straight, "yeah, of course! Yeah!" a little overly enthusiastically. _Was she wanting to meet up for lecture too?_ That would be too good to be true.

Elin smiled at him, "shall I wait for you and we can sit together?"

Dan about fell over. "Yeah, sure, that would be awesome. I'll look for you." He couldn't believe his luck.

Elin smiled, grabbed her pack and slung it over her shoulder, "Ok, great. I'll see you Wednesday, Dan…" Elin frowned. "I don't know your last name. Dan—"

"Cahill." He answered, giving her a smile.

"Dan Cahill." Elin said, giving a knowing smile. "I will wait for you Wednesday." She turned and waved over her shoulder at him as she left the lab.

Dan caught it and returned it with a tiny quizzical look of his own. What had that look been for? He knew just what to do when he got home. The comm center. One name: Elin Möller.


	8. Swedish Fish

Dan wasted no time arranging his date with Elin. She had mentioned once in lab that she was a huge hockey fan, so Dan pulled a few Cahill strings and was able to get tickets to the Bruins' game that night. They had talked all through the game, cheering as necessary, but really, the just wanted a reason to sit next to each other and talk. When Dan dropped her off that evening, they made plans for the next day. And then, the day after that. Neither could get enough of the other. They had walked all over Boston the last two days. Something had broken loose inside of Dan when he finally got the nerve to ask her out. They had been to Quincy Market and Elin had been delighted to find a few Swedish treats from home. She said she wanted to introduce Dan to Swedish food.

Dan had responded with the obligatory IKEA remark, to which Elin simply rolled her eyes.

Dan brought her back to his house, the Cambridge headquarters, she began to pull the food items from her grocery bag one at a time, explaining each briefly before offering them to Dan to taste.

At some point, Atticus had let himself in, and hearing their voices, came to the kitchen to investigate. Dan made the introductions.

"Elin, meet Atticus, my best friend, and Att, meet Elin." Dan said, gesturing to one another.

Atticus stuck out his hand, "Nice to finally meet you, Elin. Dan's talked about you a lot lately."

"Oh?" Said Elin, her eyebrows raised, looking from Atticus to Dan.

Atticus, sensing the embarrassment from Dan, continued, helpfully, "Oh yeah, he barely shuts up about you."

"Thanks Atticus, you're really helpful. I'll make sure _not_ to mention to Elin that you have a broken violin string collection. Or that you get really bad gas when you chew gum all day long."

Elin laughed while Atticus turned red under his brown skin.

"Back to the treats," Elin said, pointing to the items on the counter. "You have to start with this one" she said, holding up a Daim bar, "these are so delicious."

Dan and Att each took a bite of the toffee chocolate bar and closed their eyes in savory happiness.

Both boys looked at Elin with gratitude. "That was delicious!" Atticus said.

"What else did you get?" Dan asked.

Elin pulled out a large yellow can from her shopping bag. "It's Surströmming" she said with a playful smile.

"What the hell is it?" Dan asked with a wrinkled nose.

Elin was beginning to giggle, "It's traditional. It's basically fermented herring."

Dan continued to look at the yellow can with distain, "you're making me try rotting fish?"

"That's pretty much what it is," Elin said, looking Dan right in the eyes, smiling broadly. "The smell is putrid."

Elin handed the can and a can opener to him.

"Well, it can't be any worse than the 21 American hotdogs I stuffed in my mouth in 60 seconds last year when I won that _I Love a Good Weiner_, T-shirt.

"It's really good. You'll love it." Elin said deadpan.

Dan had a wary look on his face as he began to crank open the can. After a few turns, a squirt of foul-smelling cloudy liquid landed on Dan's hand; he looked revolted.

"Gross, this can just jizzed on me."

Both Elin and Atticus burst out laughing. They couldn't decide which was funnier; Dan's proclamation, or his obvious disgust at having to eat the contents of this nasty can.

He flicked the lid onto the floor and held the Surströmming at arm's length.

"Go on, then," Elin encouraged between peals of laughter.

Dan picked up a limp headless fish and held it up. Can juices dripped off the slimy thing. Dan looked like he was ready to puke.

"I hate my life," Dan said as he scrunched up his face and stuffed the fermented fish in his mouth.

Atticus was howling with laughter, then suddenly stood, wide eyed and shouted, "I'll be right back!" and took off upstairs.

Elin silently handed Dan the trashcan where Dan spat the fish out and mumbled, "thank you".

While Atticus was gone, Dan took the opportunity to stare at Elin. Not only was she beautiful, she had a sick sense of humor; just like he did. She was perfect.

Elin held a smirk on her face as she watched Dan try to wipe out the inside of his mouth with a napkin.

"You know, you have a sick sense of humor," Dan said between wipes.

Elin smiled more broadly, "You're welcome. I knew you'd like these."

Dan straightened up, his smirk firmly fixed on his face. He began to take slow steps toward Elin, all while continuing to wipe out the fish from his mouth. "I liked them. Especially the rotting fish. It's my favorite."

Elin stood from her stool and sensed what Dan was about to do. "Is that so? Because, you can have the rest of the can if you like."

Dan was inches from her now, "Mmm. Yum. 32 ounces of dead rotting fish just waiting for me. I'm going to get right on that."

Elin was as tall as Dan and not for the first time appreciated that he could look her level in the eyes; those piercing blue eyes.

"Have you ever made out with a guy who smells like Surströmming?" Dan asked playfully.

"Of course," Elin said deadpan, "What do you think they make Swedish breath mints taste like?"

Dan hadn't been expecting this and he cracked a smile and gave a small snort of laughter before composing himself again. She really did have his sense of humor.

Then, before Dan had any more time to think about it, Elin grabbed the back of Dan's head and pulled him to her for their first kiss. Dan stood there with his hands limp at his sides for a few moments before he instinctually wrapped them around her back.

She felt so good, and she smelled good. This was _way_ better than the fantasies he had dreamt about her for the last 5 months. They stood like this for a few seconds, or maybe it was a few decades, Dan didn't know, but all too soon, their reverie was broken up by pounding feet on the stairs.

They both jumped back as if electrocuted seconds before Atticus returned from his journey upstairs.

"Ta-da!" he said triumphantly thrusting a bag of blue and yellow into the air. "I found them!"

Atticus had a way of missing things right in front of him so he appeared to be completely oblivious to the pink hue both Elin and Dan were displaying around their neck and faces.

"Swedish Fish! I knew I had a bag upstairs somewhere."

Atticus tore open the bag, plopping it down on the counter next to the Surströmming and helping himself. Dan eyed Elin and she eyed him right back. If their next three dates happened in the rapid succession that these three had, they'd be married with kids by the end of the year. This thought made Dan smile. He had always wondered why Amy and Jake got that googly-eyed look with each other; but now he knew. Dan couldn't wait to see Elin again—this time, without Atticus around. He was particularly impressed that Elin had initiated their first kiss—especially with a date whose mouth tasted like a Swedish trashcan.

Dan knew Jake and Amy were due to return from Norway in a few days' time. It appeared it would be a roundtable of good news to share from both the Cahill siblings.

Dan looked over and her and grinned. Elin Möller was a force to be reckoned with, and Dan was up to the challenge.


	9. Smoking Hot Harvard Babe

Amy's flight from Boston landed on time at Eleftherios Venizelos airport in Athens. It was a crowded flight and the throng outside her gate was thick. Jake had promised to pick her up, even though she had offered to get her own car. As she entered the main hub of the airport, she couldn't see him. _I'll just wait here until the crowd thins out, then I'll text him if I can't find him. _People milled all around her. She was scanning the crowd for his familiar face, but nothing. _Maybe he's running late._ She checked her phone, no text. She made to scan the crowd again when a man holding a sign near the back of the crowd caught her eye. It read:

**_Smoking Hot Harvard Babe_**

The whimsical nature of the sign made Amy smile; that guy had a sense of humor. It wasn't for her, of course. That could be anyone, plus, that man wasn't Jake. He wouldn't do anything like that anyway, he was way too serious for a flirtatious sign in a busy airport. She continued to scan for him. _Where was he?_ She pulled out her phone and was about to unlock it, when something made her look back at the man with the sign. Then it hit her.

It was him.

But it didn't look at all like him! He began to slowly walk toward her and she toward him. Her mouth hung open taking in the scene.

Jake looked completely different! For starters, he was tan- really, really tan. He was wearing a Red Sox cap and mirrored sunglasses, but the biggest difference was his _beard_. He had grown a full beard covering much of his beautiful face! Amy put her arms out in an exaggerated shrug, as if to say, "I didn't recognize you!" Jake's smile widened as he neared her. Passengers nearby giggled at his sign, clearly meant for her.

They both ran the final four steps and Jake tossed his sign over his shoulder as he scooped and picked her up around the waist, bags and all, and kissed her while he twirled the two of them on the spot. A few people clapped as several others just smiled knowingly.

"I didn't recognize you!" Amy squealed. "Look at you?!" She said, running her fingers across his beard. It felt soft under her fingers. It was strange to see him look this different.

"Do you like it?" Jake said, teasing in his voice.

Amy removed his sunglasses and hat to really take in his new look. She ruffled up his hair to return it to some of its natural buoyancy. She tilted her head to the side in mock study.

"I think I do. It's just going to take some getting used to. What brought this on?" she asked.

Jake smiled. He grabbed her bags from her shoulders and took her hand in his. Together they turned toward the exit.

"Well, as you know, the Greek sun can be intense and I was tired of trying to smear sunscreen on me every couple of hours, so, I decided this was an easier way to keep from frying. All the guys on the site grew them."

Amy smiled at him and then remembered: the sign! She dropped his hand and turned around to grab it before it was gone. "I'm keeping this." She said waving his sign at him.

Jake laughed, "you know whose idea that was?" Jake asked. "Dan's. He said you'd never think it was me and he was right; you looked right at me!" Jake winked at her.

"Where are we going?" Jake asked, loading her bags into the waiting car.

"I thought you booked the hotel?" Amy said with surprise.

Jake's face went blank for a moment. Then, disbelievingly, "You told me you had it all covered, and all I had to do was show up at 3!"

Amy's surprise faded into a sly smile. "Gotcha."

Amy gave the taxi drive the address to their beachside bungalow where they were going to spend three glorious days together. Jake was on an excavation near the newly discovered city of Tenea just south of the ancient city of Corinth. He was helping to unearth this once-prosperous city that archeologists debated the location for decades. Jake had decided to make his doctoral dissertation about this site since there seemed to be a wealth of knowledge to be learned from this excavation which would take a decade to fully uncover. Any time he talked about it, he spoke in rapid-fire sentences and he animatedly waved his hands for emphasis. Amy found it endearing how excited he got about this Greek discovery.

He had been on site for 8 weeks and this short weekend visit would be their only visit for another 8 weeks. They both were savoring their time together and Amy had booked them a completely private bungalow with a pool, kitchen and beach-front access, though she was fairly sure they wouldn't be leaving the bedroom unless one of them needed food.

Jake pulled Amy close to him in the backseat and proceeded to start playing with her long reddish-brown hair. Amy linked their left hands together and rested her head on his shoulder. He had been looking forward to this weekend for two months, ever since he left Harvard and their Cambridge home they shared. He let his mind drift to their upcoming three days and he closed his eyes, mental images making him wish the taxi would drive faster.

He looked down at Amy, tired from her long flight and a flood of tenderness surged through him. She was busy with her Master's Degree in Ancient and Medieval literature, but she had taken a long flight for a short weekend, just to be with him. Her sacrifice wasn't lost on him and he loved her for it. They had just under 72 hours together and he was going to make the most of them.


	10. Arabic lesson

Amy sat under her favorite oak tree with her notes in her lap. She was feeling extra irritated at the moment and was beginning to look around for something to throw.

"You aren't helping. Quit smirking. This is hard for me!" Amy said frowning, eyes down on her notes. She had a notebook open with her own Arabic alphabet she had created using her calligraphy pens.

Her companion who was mostly-fluent in Arabic just smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of his handsome face. Jake Rosenbloom, her boyfriend of two years, had recently convinced her to add an Arabic minor to her Harvard undergraduate degree. He had insisted on helping her with daily study sessions. She had only agreed if he added the same minor to his degree, which he had whole-heartedly agreed.

"I'm not smirking!" Jake said with hands in front of him in a sign of mock surrender.

Amy shot him an irritated look.

"I swear, I am helping-you're just saying it wrong." Jake said with a smile in his voice. He liked seeing Amy like this. Normally she was so unflappable and she picked up on learning so quickly that to see her struggle with _anything_ was amusing, and, quite frankly, endearing. "Try it again, it's _daawwwdd_." Jake pronounced drawing his vowel sound from somewhere deep within.

Amy sighed, wrinkled her brow and spoke the alphabet letter she had so much trouble with. "_ddoooowwwddd_."

Jake smiled, "Better. Try making it have a guttural sound, like German. You really have to reach down into your throat and yank the sound out! _ddaawwdd_," Jake said again really focusing on the _aw_ part of the letter.

Amy sighed exasperatedly and flopped backward on the grass. "The letters don't look familiar, I have to learn to read it from right to left, there's 28 letters and a billion exceptions to remember and I can't even pronounce them! I want to give up right now! This is pointless!" She laid still, eyes closed expecting Jake to give her some sort of pep talk.

Silence. Amy could feel Jake lean down next to her but he wasn't saying anything. Finally, curiosity won and she opened one eye to see him propped up on his left elbow, hand on his head just watching her. She scowled at him but said nothing.

"You want to make out?" he finally said.

"WHAT? God no!" Amy said sitting bolt upright and giving him her best disdainful glare. The nerve!

Jake sat upright and his playful attitude was gone.

He was all business, "then your only other choice is to get back to work and get over this pity party you're throwing yourself. Come on Cahill, you're smarter than this," he said giving his head a small nod in the direction of her books and notes.

Amy scowled at him. It had been a ruse to get her out of her funk. Her scowl slowly changed to a smirk. He was right, she was having a pity party. She sat up and looked at him.

"Fine." She sighed. "Let's do this and damnit, I'm going master this f***er!"

"That's the Amy I know, albeit, less cursing generally. Although, I don't mind it. Sometimes a well-placed F-bomb solves a lot of frustration." Jake said turning to face her again.

She looked at him to see his smile had returned. She started quietly laughing.

"You ready?" Jake looked at her expectantly.

"Yes, I'm over my pity party. Thanks for the kick in the butt." Amy said smiling.

"You're welcome, and you should say 'ass'." Jake said deadpan.

Amy broke out in laughter, "ASS!" she shouted.

They worked hard for another half an hour before Amy's eyes were burning and her brain was fog. Jake said she had made good progress and that Arabic was as difficult as English to learn.

"If you really want to learn, you should study with Att. He's the linguist. He picks up languages the way mom did. Dad and I are OK, but it's mostly the romantic languages for us. They all have a similar Latin base and once you learn one, you can pick up the others pretty easily."

Amy wasn't so sure about that, "If you say so. I'm just impressed you and Att knew so many languages before you left high school. Dan and I were at such a disadvantage on the clue hunt because we only knew English. Thank God that Nellie knew French and Spanish."

Jake grabbed her hand as they walked back toward Grace's house, "even more reason to keep studying with me every day," he said giving her a wink. "Plus, it gives me time alone with you, which I'm learning is a rare commodity in Grace's house. It's funny, with a place that size, you'd think we could be alone whenever we want."

"But we never are," Amy said smiling. Dan and Atticus just sort of naturally gravitated toward Jake and Amy, no matter where they were. In fact, as they were speaking, Dan and Atticus were making their way across the pool deck and waved to the two of them.

"Speak of the Devil", Jake said giving their hands a swing.

"I'm going to miss this place," Amy said quietly.

"It'll only be for a little while Ames, then you'll be back. You don't have to live in Cambridge forever." Jake said looking at her.

Amy sighed and then to her surprise, she started crying. "I won't ever be back here. You know that." She said turning to face him.

Jake had a look of utter surprise on his face, "What are you talking about? This is your home. Attleboro is home. Of course you'll be back."

Amy sighed. "Jake, I know you're being sweet, but the fact remains that if you and I continue to date, we'll probably get married and life together won't lead to Attleboro. You'll want to be out on sites, just like your dad and I'll probably be in some museum in some world-famous city. We'll both need to be near major airports and none of that future involves this wonderful sleepy New England town." Amy's tears betrayed her and leaked out of her eyes against her will.

Jake's forehead furrowed and his eyes narrowed at the same time his pupils dilated. "Amy, you just made about a hundred assumptions all at the same time." His mouth opened and then shut, then opened again.

"That could be _one _possible future scenario, but I know how important this place is to you. Don't you remember me telling you that you are my everything? Making you happy is the number one job I have in this world."

He grabbed both of her hands and searched her eyes, "Ames, if this home is that important to you, then this his home base. I don't care what we have to do to make it happen. You say the word and we'll put in an airfield right over there and buy you a Gulfstream." Jake said pointing to the far corner of the property.

Amy studied his face for any sign of falsehood, "Really?" she said in disbelief.

Jake sighed with his own disbelief, "Of course Amy" he said shaking his head. "You name it, we'll do it. If you want to live here, then here we live! No doubt about it."

"But, what about your career?" Amy said her brow furrowing again.

"I like the idea of an airstrip and Gulfstream. We probably really need one of those down the line. We can't keep asking Jonah to use his." He said smiling and walking toward the house again.

Amy smiled, "You're right. We can't." She stopped walking and put her arms around his neck. She looked up into his eyes. "Thank you. I was so stressed about leaving this place because I honestly thought it would be forever."

Jake put his arms around her waist and pulled her close, "Anything to make my baby happy. Amy, I'd do anything for you. This is an easy request to fill. Easy. Just do me a favor though,"

"What's that?"

"Don't assume our future without me. Talk to me before you freak out for no reason." Jake said touching his forehead to hers.

Amy blushed, "Of course. You're right." She said nodding her head.

"We have to make those plans together Amy. A few at a time; not all at once." He said. "As my dad is fond of saying, _we eat the bear one bite at a time_."

Amy smiled and kissed him. A huge weight she didn't even know she was carrying around had been lifted. This was reason one million and one why she loved Jake so much.


	11. Flight to Remember

Takes place within events of Shatterproof

Jonah's Private Plane

Somewhere over North Africa

Time to next Vesper Drop: 20 hours

Jake and Amy were settled at the rear of the plane, side by side. Dan and Atticus were seated as far away as possible, right behind the cockpit playing some _zombie apocalypse_ video game. Amy intended to sleep and land in Timbuktu rested, but try as she might, sleep would not come. Maybe it was the stress, or maybe it was the fact that Jake had picked the seat right next to her and her heart felt like it was running a marathon. And he smelled good. And he was gorgeous.

"You know, we could really get a lot done, if we put our heads together." Jake said, pulling out his laptop and setting it on the table between then, inching ever closer to Amy.

Amy glanced sidelong at Jake. He ran a hand through his perfect hair and slipped his trainers off, stretching his long legs across to the seats opposite them and crossing his ankles. He flipped open the lid, typed in his password and opened a web browser.

"Okay," Amy sighed, "I'm not sure I'd be able to sleep anyway." Amy said, leaning toward Jake so that their shoulders were touching now.

Jake glanced over at her and flashed her his biggest movie-star smile. He let his gaze linger on her just a second longer than he should. Amy felt butterflies in her stomach. _Stop it!_ she chastised herself.

"What do you know about Timbuktu?" She asked, focusing on his laptop, if for no other reason than she knew she was turning pink and didn't want Jake looking at her just then.

"Uh, some. My father came here once, I believe. I was a little kid back then. It's pretty remote and the desert is constantly threatening to claim the city completely. They call it 'desertification'."

"I read about that. It's sad." Amy was reading the Wikipedia page Jake had pulled up about Timbuktu. She drew quiet as she read.

Jake turned his head ever so slightly so he was no longer reading the screen, but instead, watching Amy read. He loved studying her. She could be so focused sometimes. He mentally traced her profile. She had the most delicate features and her lips…

Amy could feel Jake's eyes on her. She turned slowly and stared at him. Just then Dan walked past them to the bathroom and Amy and Jake snapped their eyes back to the screen and the information within.

Jake coughed once, and blubbered, "uh, right, so, um, where were we?"

"Um, we, um, were, here." Amy said, reaching out to the screen and pointing to the part about desertification. At this rate they'd be lucky to get through five paragraphs before they landed-6 hours from now.

Jake tried to redouble his efforts at reading, but the fact that Amy was sitting next to him, her shoulder and her long hair resting on his was all he could focus on. It didn't help that he kept picturing kissing her. _Stop!_ He mentally berated himself, _she has a boyfriend! _Then as if the angel and devil from the cartoons were sitting on each of his shoulders, he proceeded to have a war within himself:

_She has a boyfriend, sure, but you're much better looking than he is._

It doesn't matter, she's off limits! Look at yourself, you're enjoying this time with her. How dare you!

_Oh, shut up, you can tell she likes you too. Go on, enjoy it. She'll come around to you eventually._

Is nothing sacred? Stop leaning on her, sit up, gather your things and sit somewhere else. Be a man for shit's sake!

_I think we've had enough of you. She's just the kind of girl for you: brilliant, talented, a natural leader, industrious and pretty. Very pretty. _

Jake gave his head a small shake to dispel the internal dispute he was having with himself. Apparently, the devil within was winning because he did not get up, but decided to flirt for all he was worth. The next several hours were some of the best of his life. He winked, joked, complimented, smiled and generally tried to engage with Amy. Sure, they researched Timbuktu, but the real research was each other.

Not long before landing, Atticus passed them again, for nearly the 100th time, heading to the bathroom and he gave Jake a look of deep disgust. It was apparent to the eleven-year-old that something more than research was happing at the rear of the plane.

Jake was on cloud nine, and, it appeared, so was Amy. She had turned sideways in her seat and tucked one leg underneath her. She kept smiling and gazing at Jake so much so that she felt guilty about it. She played with her hair and smiled coyly to Jake. He had a lost puppy dog look on his face and she knew her face had to look similar. _He was so hot!_ There were far worse things in the world than being flirted with by a hot guy. Amy decided to forget her worries for the next few hours and soak up this time with Jake. Who knew what awaited them on the ground when they landed.


	12. Svalbard

Strait of Gibraltar

Takes place within Breakaway

"Just go!" Amy shouted to the pilot who shrugged and gunned the engine, speeding away from the boys who were all shouting at Amy; Dan in the water, Jake and Atticus on the railing of the boat. As the seaplane rose up out of the water, Amy gave one last look down at the boys; _This is for the best, I have to do this on my own. I can't let any of you get hurt because of me._

Dan's hands slapped down hard on the surface of the water. He swore loudly before turning and swimming the 30 meters back to the boat. She had left without any of them, with him. _What was she thinking? _The only comfort Dan had upon reaching the boat was that the purple rage of his face was matched by the fury on Jake's, who leaned down and grabbed onto Dan's forearm, hoisting him back aboard.

"This is my fault." Jake fumed with anger. "It was dad. He got to her. If we had never gone to Atlantis, he would she would never have spoken with him. This never would have happened." Jake said, thinking about his father's words mere hours earlier: _I'm not going to let you do to Jake what you did to that Toliver boy._

Atticus was in tears, "What's she doing?"

"She's going to get herself killed," Dan said, pushing past the brothers. Dan started trying to explain to the captain what had happened before he remembered he only spoke Spanish. Jake intervened.

"We need to get Attleboro on the radio, get them to hire a helicopter. Then, once I'm off, you and Atticus need to get to Tunis and intercept those seeds from your father's colleagues." Jake translated as Dan spoke and the captain and crew jumped into action. After Attleboro was contacted and Ian assured them there would be a chopper as soon as possible and they would continue to monitor Amy from the comm center, a lock smith was located and hired to fashion a new key for the fishing boat.

Waiting was torture. Every minute felt like an hour. The three boys milled about on deck waiting for any sign of either an approaching Zodiac or helicopter.

"This is exactly what she hoped would happen." Dan fairly spat as he wore a path along the deck railing.

"I can't believe she left us." Atticus added, deeply hurt. Jake put his arm around his brother's shoulders and pulled him close.

"I can't believe it either, Att. It'll be okay, she's just not thinking clearly, that's all." Jake said, mostly to calm himself, though he knew Amy made the decision with a clear head. He almost added what Amy had said to him right before she dove off the railing: _I don't love you, I know you think there's this thing between us, but there isn't, and there never has been. _The memory of her words was like a sword to Jake's soul. His greatest fear had been realized; his feelings for Amy were one-sided. She had never loved him.

Tears stung Jake's eyes and he blinked rapidly to vanish them. He stood, walked over to the railing and looked out on the sea. Taking a deep breath, he tried formulating a plan that would still involve Atticus and himself for Dan's sake; there was no way Dan could handle everything now that Amy had gone rogue. Dan was still pacing the railing, wearing a worn patch on the steel of the gunwale. Dan was masking his hurt and worry behind anger.

Jake swallowed his own hurt, took a breath and approached him.

"Dan," Jake started. This got him to stop his pacing.

Jake continued, "Amy said some pretty hurtful things before she, you know—"

He made a swan diving motion with both arms.

"And, she made it very clear that she doesn't want Att or me around anymore, but we know better than anyone what you're up against and unless you want us to leave also, we're going to see this through with you."

Dan looked at both brothers and nodded his head. "Amy's got a lot of explaining to do when I catch up with her. Of course I want you both around. We need you."

Just then the first traces of a propeller engine could be heard and all three turned to see a white blip on the horizon grow larger. The helicopter would be here in minutes.

Jake gave a sad grin, "Okay, then we'll get to Tunis, get the seeds and contact you then." He said, clapping a hand on Dan's shoulder. The boys looked at each other briefly before both gave barely imperceptible nods; Amy was wrong about this one, and Dan was going to get to the bottom of it, hopefully before she died of hypothermia or worse—a bullet.

Within minutes, the helicopter had clipped Dan in to a safety vest and was hauling him up by a winch and then they were gone, off to Svalbard, hot on Amy's heels. The captain sailed back to Tunis with the Rosenbloom brothers, and, despite their father's threats to call the police, no paparazzi, police or Pierce goons awaited them at the dock.

The pilot informed Dan that cell service north of Oslo was spotty at best, so he texted Jake.

_Pilot says cell service is bad, so if you get the seeds, get yourselves to Oslo ASAP. I'll meet you at the Hotel Anker. _

Jake responded, _Got it. Be safe. Find her._

Dan quick placed a call to the hotel and booked rooms; one for Amy, one for the Rosenblooms and one for himself; no way was he sharing a room with his sister when he was this mad. _I just hope I find her in time._

Seven hours later

Dan, along with the pilot's help, loaded Amy onto a snowmobile and raced her to the only hospital on Svalbard. The team of doctors in the tiny place were well trained in hypothermia; hypothermia and polar bear attacks. Dan hoped they wouldn't need their services for that. They gave Amy a sedative and put her on a hemodialysis machine to warm her blood, and was also given a humidified oxygen mask.

Several hours later Dan was shaken awake by Amy's nurse who said she was warm enough to move. She had 2nd degree hypothermia on several of her fingertips and she'd have significant bruising not only from falling as she stumbled, but the dialysis machine as well. Dan hated seeing his sister like this. He will still so furious with her, but seeing her covered in bruises and her hand wrapped up made him have pity on her and he was in no mood to show her pity; she had explaining to do. Still feeling the effects of the sedative, Amy was loaded onto the helicopter and the two Cahills made their way to Oslo for the night. It was the longest night of Dan's life.

Jake was having a terrible night as well. He and Atticus had been successful in procuring some of the silphium seeds from Dr. Rosenbloom's colleagues. In fact, it had been downright easy. Jake and Att caught the first flight to Oslo late that evening. It was a red-eye flight. This gave Jake some much-needed time to reflect on his day. He kept coming back to Amy's words: _I don't love you. I know you think I do. You think there's this thing between us, but there isn't, there never was, and there never will be._ And the look in her eyes; it was a steely determined look. No misreading that.

Fine. Okay. If that's how she wanted it, then that's how she'd have it. Jake opened his laptop and composed an email.

_Amy, _

_ I don't think there's much to say, or anything Dan probably hasn't already said but there's one thing I had to get off my chest. First off, Atticus and I are glad you're okay. We were all pretty mad when you took off without us, but that was because we were terrified. None of us know what we'd do if anything happened to you. I want you to know that I'm not going to stop trying to help fight Pierce but I accept what you said before you left and want you to know I agree, there was never anything between either of us and there never will be. Don't waste any more time worrying about feelings that neither of us ever had. _

_Jake_

He read it through once before hitting send. He wanted nothing more than to hear from Amy that it had all been a sick joke, a momentary lapse in judgement, but he knew better. Now, instead of burning anger, he had a dull ache that seemed to seep from his heart itself. It was like a chill that couldn't be warmed. With a sigh of resignation, Jake shut his laptop, glanced at his sleeping brother and flipped off the reading light. A chilly reception awaited them when they landed; both figuratively and literally.


	13. Longest Night of their Lives

Tikal, Guatemala

4:56 am

Amy picked herself up from the damp rainforest floor. She had long since cried herself out. Dan was kidnapped, gone to who-knows-where. She gave one last glance up to Pony's broken, prone body and mentally made a note to call in an anonymous tip to the Guatemalan police; she couldn't stand the thought of him staying one more second up in that tree. With an expression reminiscent of concrete, Amy slowly, slowly made her way back to the hotel to face Jonah, Hamilton, Ian, Jake and Atticus. It was going to be the hardest conversation of her life.

The boys had returned from finding the riven crystal hours ago. Jake had immediately gone to look for Amy and Dan when they realized Pony was not manning the computer anymore. He hadn't found anything. The site of the drop was abandoned. Begrudgingly, he had returned to the hotel, hoping against hope that she and Dan would have returned in his absence. She hadn't. No one slept. No one spoke. Hours passed. The first glimpses of light began to creep over the horizon and dread settled into everyone's stomachs. _If they had not returned by now, it was because they weren't returning. Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong._

Atticus took a deep breath, wrapping his mind around the inevitable; his best friend was gone. Either dead or kidnapped. _What now?_ He didn't dare ask. One look around the room and it was clear that all of the occupants were sick with worry. Ian was chewing on his perfectly groomed fingernails, Ham was doing his 1,000th pushup with such vigor it was like he was mad at the floor for getting in his way. Jonah sat, slouched in a desk chair with such a worried look on his face, no doubt, he would develop permanent wrinkles there. But Jake, Jake was the hardest to look at. He had been standing in the same spot, arms crossed, back stiff, overlooking the window ever since his return, like some sentry on duty. If Jake could have willed Amy, Dan and Pony back to the hotel, they would have zoomed like some Harry Potter spell. It was his sheer will that kept Atticus going. He didn't dare think what would happen to his brother if they didn't return; if _Amy_ didn't return. Atticus didn't spend much time thinking about his brother's love life, but Amy seemed to have gotten under Jake's skin like he had never seen before. Jake wasn't in love, exactly, or, maybe he was? Maybe that's what love looked like when it was under duress? Fighting all the time? Glowering at each other? Maybe this extreme worry that Jake carried with him was the manifestation of love itself? Could love give someone an ulcer?

It was in the middle of this thought that the key pad gave a swipe and the door opened. There stood Amy; muddy, wet, bloody, blotchy faced Amy. She looked terrible. And, she was alone.

Everyone instantly stood and stared at her. No one spoke. No one had to. Amy had their full attention. Her slack face and dead eyes said it all; Dan and Pony weren't coming back. With her eyes downcast on the floor, she spoke in a flat tone, like that of an automated voice messaging system.

"Pierce's men have Dan. They took him in a helicopter. I couldn't stop them. Pony tried to go after the helicopter, but—" Amy paused and swallowed hard. "he fell. He's dead."

The room was silent; everyone was in shock. Amy's face remained impassive for 5—6—7—more seconds before she broke, sobbing, and began to crumple to the ground. Five sets of arms reached out to grab her before she fell, but it was Jake who reached her first. She collapsed against him and let him hold her up. She didn't care that they technically weren't dating, she didn't care that he was still furious with her over Svalbard, she just knew it felt good to be in his arms. He led her over to the couch and sat down next to her. Jonah handed her a box of tissues.

Ian found his voice first. He was careful, as if she were made of glass, "Amy, can you tell us exactly what happened?"

Amy looked around at all of them. All five were there. "Did you find the crystal?" she asked, wiping her nose.

Atticus answered, "yes, we got it. It was right where we thought it would be."

Amy simply nodded. She didn't even have the emotion to give Att a smile. She swallowed hard, took a deep breath and plunged into her version of events from the night. As she spoke, she bodily leaned against Jake, often resting her head on his shoulder. Several times she had to stop, giving herself time to collect herself before continuing on. All of the boys listened with rapt attention. Halfway through her recount, Ham got up and began to pace the room while he listened. He had one thought: They _never_ should have gone alone.

Jake was having the same thought, but, as it was too late to change things, he kept this thought to himself. On one pass across the room their eyes met and Ham and Jake shared a look; they knew, but would never, ever voice it to Amy. It would crush her.

"Well, we just have to find Dan now." Ian said matter-of-factly. "I suspect this 'code A' that I've been staring at on Pony's computer the last few hours is some sort of tracker. If it has something to do with Pierce, then I suspect we will find Dan."

Concrete-faced Amy was back. "Ok," she said, rising from her seat. "I need to shower and change then we're out of here. Jonah, how fast can the plane be ready?"

"Pilot says wheels up in 30 minutes." Jonah says, glancing at his phone.

"Fine, make sure you're all ready to go in 10."

Amy grabbed her pack and made for the bathroom. After she had closed the door, the five of them all stared at one another. Very little of the worry had drained from their faces. Dan kidnapped. Pony dead. It seemed like too much for one night.

"Let's get moving," Jake said, standing and rousing the others from their stupor. "We can't dwell on this right now. We have to find Dan."

The others mutely stood and began to gather their things like zombies. They hadn't slept so 'zombies' was an apt analogy. How long could the human body go without rest? Ham had a feeling they were about to find out.

Jake wanted some time to himself, so he told the others to meet in the lobby. He let himself out of the room and headed for the stairwell instead of the elevator. At this early hour, he knew it would be abandoned. As the door clicked behind him, he leaned his head against the cinderblock wall and closed his eyes.

_How can I help? What can I do?_ He hated feeling so, so…powerless. That's what this feeling was—powerless. He thought back to seeing Amy walk in the room, looking like she had been run over by a truck and despite the knowledge that Dan was in enemy hands and Pony was dead, he couldn't suppress the glimmer of relief he had at seeing her alive and whole. How he wished things were different. Would they ever have a chance to make things right? Would she ever see him differently?

_Maybe_, he dared to even think it, _she'd recant her words on the fishing boat and say it was all a lie? No sense dwelling on that right now Rosenbloom, _he thought to himself. _Those are thoughts for another time, another day, another life. Right now, you have to figure out a way to help Amy and if we're going to Angkor Wat, then that's what I need to prepare for. _Good thing Jake knew so much about it. He'd grown up hearing stories about this famous Cambodian city; his father had even done his doctoral dissertation on Angkor Wat. He fixed his face, stood up straight and for the first time all night, a tiny smile crept on to his face as he jogged down the steps to the lobby.


	14. Swimming Lesson

Mabu Thermas Hotel and Pools

Iguazu, Brazil

Amy's face was still flushed from shooing the boys out of the shop where she was trying to find a swimsuit suitable for her. She had supremely not appreciated the boys' attempts at 'helping' her find one. There did seem to be an inordinate amount of strings, straps and animal print in this gift shop. No way was she going out in something like the ones the boys had picked out. Over her dead body, thankyouverymuch. She picked up a pink bikini and one with blue and white stripes and headed for the fitting room. Five minutes later she paid for the blue and white one, went back to the changing room to put it on and made to join the boys. She found a towel and wrapped it around her waist as she walked. Ahead she could see Atticus, Dan and Jake joking around with each other, their things spread over two loungers. She took a moment to appreciate Jake shirtless. He was toned, with great muscle definition and an appreciative six-pack, but he wasn't beefy like Ham. All of a sudden, an image of Evan popped into her head and it made her steps falter. Why was she thinking of him, now? _Because you still care about him, that's why_, she thought. She gave her head a small shake and Evan disappeared. _Why? Why did things have to be confusing? _

Jake turned to see Amy approaching. She was wearing a blue and white striped bikini and a towel wrapped around her waist. His pulse quickened as she approached. She was a knockout in that bikini. He knew he shouldn't stare, so he tried to memorize her in the few seconds he had before it became awkward. Lately, he had often wondered what she'd look like in a bikini, or, maybe even less, but seeing her here in person, was amazing. She had a runner's physique; toned arms, small pert breasts, flat stomach with some definition on the sides. Plus, even her toes were cute.

He looked away before it became obvious he was staring. The four of them rode the elevator down to the pool deck. Jake, occasionally taking side-glances at Amy as all four of them looked out the glass walls at the ground rising to meet them. As they pushed through the glass doors to the outside, Atticus put one had to his eyes and peeked through his fingers,

"_Not_ nudists." Relief in his voice.

Jake moved a little closer to Amy, "What's the plan?" he asked, his voice low. He followed her gaze as she looked around. The hot tub, two big pools, the patio. There was a lot of ground to cover. She didn't answer so he continued on.

"We can start with this pool, it's the biggest. Atticus you and Dan take the perimeter. Amy and I will take the rest of it."

"Is that an order?" Amy said, crossing her hands across her chest, "or just a suggestion?"

"I'm only trying to help." Jake said, "And Atticus, you don't go anywhere on your own. One of us always has to be next to you."

Atticus looked like he was about to talk back, but Jake's expression clearly indicated zero tolerance. He just shrugged and cannonballed into the pool, followed immediately by Dan.

Amy watched Dan for a few moments. Her expression softened. He already seemed to be free from the effects of the curare.

She cleared her throat and turned to Jake, "We should try not to look like we're searching." She said.

"Agreed." Jake said, then pausing. "Can you swim the butterfly stroke?"

"Yes" She said, "not great, but why?"

"I can't. You can teach me. That can be our cover for going back and forth across the pool a million times."

Amy smiled, "good idea."

Jake smiled too as they dropped their towels and made to dive in. This felt almost as good as making her laugh.

The water was warm and it felt good to be doing something as normal as swimming in a hotel pool even though the purpose of their visit never left their thoughts. Jake wanted nothing more than to splash and play in the water with Amy but they got right to work.

Swimming close to one another, Amy whispered, "if we start at this end and work our way across, we can make a zig zag pattern across the pool, checking edges and bricks as well as the drains."

"Good idea." Jake said nodding. His pulse quickened as Amy's leg brushed his.

They felt along the edge, making it appear as if they were walking their hands down to the corner of the pool.

"What I remember of the butterfly has to do with the dolphin kick. You do it like this," Amy said, pushing off from the wall and keeping her legs together, she bent her torso so that her butt came up at the same time she bent her knees and gave two quick simultaneous kicks with her legs. Jake treaded water alongside her as she worked her way across the width of the pool dolphin-kicking. Jake was very content to watch her rear end break the surface every second kick. She really did have a cute, perky butt.

_Pay attention!_ He chastised himself giving his head a tiny shake. He glanced back over his shoulder as Amy reached the wall. Dan and Atticus were hauling themselves out of the pool and heading for the shelters that surrounded the pool on one side. No one was around them. He turned back to Amy.

"What am I supposed to do with my arms?" he asked, embarrassed. He had been so focused on her butt he hadn't paid any attention to what stroke she had used.

"Don't worry about that yet. Just do the breast stroke for now. You have to get the kick down first."

Now it was Amy's turn to tread water alongside as Jake dolphin-kicked his way back to the other side. He was a fast learner. Amy was, once again, amazed at his ability to learn physical things.

"You are a quick study. It took me longer than one length of the pool to master that stroke." Amy said smiling.

Jake smiled back, he liked being this close to her. "Well, swimming has never been my forte, so I'm glad to hear you think that."

Together, they examined the edge of his part of the pool, and made to head back across to the other side.

Now it was Amy who glanced back over to Atticus and Dan. They had split up, but were still nearby each other. Atticus was examining the cabana structure and appeared to be contemplating the roof while Dan was down on his hands and knees peering at the sidewalk.

"Now to add the stroke. After you do the two quick dolphin kicks, in the pause, you'll bring your arms up and out of the water while you get a breath. It's important to always keep your eyes trained 90 degrees to the surface so you're always looking at the bottom of the pool. Pull your arms parallel with the water, get a breath and drive them down toward the bottom of the pool as your legs come back up. Like this."

Amy set off across the pool in a sloppy butterfly. Her form got better as she swam. Jake was trying to make mental notes, but it didn't feel instinctual to him at all.

As she returned back to his position, he saw her break form as something caught her eye on the pool deck. Jake whipped his head around to see Dan hunched over a section of the sidewalk with a woman standing dangerously close to him talking in his ear. Atticus was approaching them slowly. Alarms bells sounding in Jake's mind; he was out of the pool in a flash, Amy right on his heels.

"Hey!" He shouted as he jogged toward the boys.

"Dan! Run!" Amy yelled.

Just then, Atticus whipped off the towel he had over his shoulder and wrapped it around the woman's head and neck. He pulled and she fell to the ground, dropping a shiny object she had concealed in her hand. It was a knife. A butter knife.


	15. A Year Off-Part I

A Year Off

Part I

Post Flashpoint

Amy and Dan said farewell to their great uncle Fiske in Meenalapa only a few short hours before Jake and Atticus were due to land in Dublin. Thankfully, Fiske was flying private plane and wouldn't chance a run-in at the arrival's gates. It spared anyone from having to explain that Amy's explanation of "I'm sure we'll meet up a few times", actually started today.

The Cahill and Rosenbloom siblings hadn't seen each other since their collective efforts to defeat Pierce in May. Amy had made a full recovery and she and Jake had some time to talk things out, patching up their relationship. They were on the path to growing back together, it would take some time, and being apart would make that work slower, but it was worth the wait. Amy and Dan had stayed in Massachusetts for a few months before setting off to return Olivia's household book to its home, while the brothers headed back to Rome and, more importantly, back to their father. They knew it wouldn't be easy to persuade Mark Rosenbloom to allow his children a year off from their studies.

Dan and Atticus had stayed in contact daily, Amy and Jake too. It had been Dan's idea to bring the Rosenblooms to Ireland that September, before it got cold and dreary. Amy had only heard snippets from Jake about he and Att's travels. Mostly locations and Snapchats of what they were eating. Atticus on the other hand, gave Dan frequent blow-by-blows of their travels; it seemed to be museum-based—which made Amy smile; Dan loved museums about as much as Ian loved Saladin.

The Uber carrying the boys arrived at Bhaile Anois around 23:00 hours. Amy and Dan were already dressed in their pajamas. The brothers looked road weary; everyone it seemed was ready for sleep.

Amy was curious how Jake would greet her? Should she kiss him, or just go for a hug? Sometimes she felt like they had to rediscover each other again.

She needn't have worried. As soon as the boys stepped out of the car, it was as if no time had passed at all. Atticus ran up and gave Amy the first hug, wrapping his thin arms around her and squeezing for all his might. This sweet gesture melted her heart. She hugged him back and then kissed the top of his head in a kindly way before glancing up to see Jake, who had just paid the driver catch the act. A broad smile crossed his face in the porch light. Att released her, running over to Dan just as Amy met Jake half way across the driveway. They threw their arms around each other and just stood there, unmoving for a time. Amy could feel the worry drain out of her. _Why had she been worried about this meeting at all? _Jake released her, but grabbed both of her hands in his. They smiled at each other, a deep look passing between them. No hint of anything beyond simply joy at being reunited. They were going in for a kiss, when a small pebble bounced off Jake's right ear.

"Ow, what was that for?" Jake said, rubbing the spot where it made contact.

"Come on love birds." Atticus said, exasperated.

Dan and Atticus turned and went into the cottage.

Amy gave Jake a sigh and rolled her eyes. The two of them followed the younger boys inside. Jake and Atticus each selected a guest room. They had fresh linens and towels and despite the starkness of the rooms, they were cozy with the lamp glow and braided rugs. Neither boy could complain. Plus, it just felt right, all four of them being back together. Amy lingered in the hallway, and Jake lingered in his doorway, hoping that the younger boys would go to sleep so he and Amy could have a few moments alone, but it was not meant to be. The younger boys were content to talk as long as they were all there, so reluctantly, Amy and Jake said good goodnight without a kiss.

In the morning, Amy and Dan got up and made eggs, tomatoes, beans, toast and sausages for their guests. The four of them sat around the pine table drinking coffee and tea and chatting. Atticus was regaling them all on the adventures they'd had that summer. He and Jake had even taken a ferry to Sicily and gone Orca diving.

"How did you convince your dad to let you take _a year_ off?" Dan asked between bites.

"We invoked the '_mom clause'_." Atticus replied. "That's what we're calling it."

Jake added, setting his coffee mug down, "It didn't take that much convincing, really." Eyeing Amy and Dan as he continued. "After mom died we never really had any sort of counseling or therapy and we convinced him that losing her was traumatic."

"And," Atticus started, "he was just so relieved that we were not hanging around you two and had come back to Rome that honestly, he might have agreed to anything. Now, whenever we want to do something, we bring up mom and he tends to agree."

Jake nodded vigorously, "But, we didn't tell him we were meeting up with you today."

He glanced at Amy and saw her hurt expression in her eyes then quickly added, "but don't worry—by next summer he'll be ready to see you both. He just needs some time." He nudged Amy's leg under the table and she gave a small smile. It was obvious there was a lot of work to be done with Dr. Rosenbloom.

After breakfast, Dan and Att took off for the inlet and the pebbly beach. They got busy skipping stones and chasing each other.

Jake took hold of Amy's hand "Want to walk?"

They headed North along the ocean. It was windy, but just the right fall temperature. Amy quick tied her hair back in a ponytail before slipping her hand back in his.

They walked along in a comfortable silence for a while, hand in hand. Finally, Jake pulled up and Amy stopped. She barely had time to turn toward him before he pulled her in tight for their first kiss in four months. She was instantly reminded how much she liked kissing Jake. He was good at it. His lips were soft, his breath was pleasant and she loved how he pulled her in tight. She kissed him back a long time before finally pulling away.

Smiling at him, she said, "I need some air."

"Air is overrated," Jake mused, going in for a mock kiss.

Amy laughed and playfully pushed him away.

He smiled at her. "I forgot how pretty you are."

Amy just shook her head, "well, I didn't forget how pretty you are."

Jake raised his eyebrows, "pretty, huh?"

Amy started laughing and slowly backing away, "yes, _pretty-boy Jake_, that's what Dan says."

Jake was in full play mode now, he dropped his jaw in mock incredulity, started to slowly move toward her. "Is that what he said?"

Amy's smile widened, as she took a few more steps backward, her hands out ready to defend. She nodded intently. "Yep, he says it every day. I try to get him to stop and pay attention to your intellect, but…" at this she shrugged with a 'what-can-you-do-about-it?' look on her face.

Jake burst out laughing and his dazzling smile lit up like the sun. He started sprinting toward Amy. She shrieked, turned, and ran off down the hill toward the beach, Jake hot on her heels. He caught her around the middle, picking her up and twirling the two of them around, laughing. They landed in a heap just at the juncture of grass and pebbly sand.

At the end of their three days together, a somber mood befell the cottage. None of them wanted to part ways, but as with all things, time marches on. The word count in the cottage had dropped considerably as the four of them had taken to just being together, but not necessarily saying anything.

As the hour approached for Jake and Att to head back to the airport, bags were collected and placed by the front door. The mist had let up and the late afternoon rays of sun were trying desperately to peek out from behind Irish clouds. Maybe it was just sentimentality, but Jake thought the landscape had an ethereal look to it.

"Come with me," Jake said, taking Amy's hand.

Together they walked to the top of the ridge overlooking the inlet and the sea beyond.

They just stood here, arm in arm, overlooking this beautiful, ancient place. The sun made all the wet surfaces look like they had been Photoshopped. The beauty of it all and the nearness of Jake filled Amy's heart. She sighed and turned her head to rest on his shoulder. He turned his head to meet hers. They both closed their eyes, resting like this for a long moment before Jake kissed Amy's forehead tenderly.

This simple act of love filled Amy with warmth, "I don't want this moment to end." She said.

Jake just nodded, then struck by inspiration, he dug in his pocket, pulled out his phone and snapped a selfie of them both; He had his new background image.

Amy made to turn back toward the cottage, but he had one more idea. With phone still in hand, he fiddled with an app for a few seconds while pulling her to him. Sam Smith's velvety voice filled the air around them as Jake pulled her in close for a dance.

"Oh, I don't know how to dance," Amy started, her legs feeling very wooden all of a sudden.

Jake pocketed the phone while the music played. He took her right hand in his left and wrapped his other hand tight around her waist.

"Disengage your brain and just sway with me. That's all there is to it." He whispered in her ear.

Amy took a deep breath and wrapped her free hand around Jake's neck.

Listening to Sam Smith, standing in this spot, remembering how wonderful three relaxing days with Jake felt, Amy was trying so hard to memorize this moment in time. Jake was thinking the same thing. As the song ended, Jake looked at Amy.

"I think we just found our song." He said quietly.

"And I think this is our new favorite spot." She added.

They leaned in for a kiss just as a car pulled into the driveway to take the boys to the airport.

"To be continued," Jake whispered

"Until next time," Amy added, feeling the warmth of Jake's lips on her own.


	16. A Year Off-Part II

A Year Off

Part II

Post Flashpoint

"And that one, right there, is Orion."

"I know Orion. It's one of the only constellations I can pick out. I recognize the three diagonal lines that form his belt." Amy said, sighing and pulling her zipper higher on her jacket.

She and Jake had crawled out on the low, nearly flat roof of their small cabin they were renting for the week while the younger boys splashed and played in the hot tub on the back side of the house.

"Well, did you know that the orange one in his upper shoulder is called Betelgeuse?" Jake asked, looking over at her. They were both lying on their backs, finding constellations over the dark Spanish sky this post-Christmas night.

After they left Meenalapa, the brothers had traveled in Indonesia with their father before taking some time off to lay in hammocks and sip tropical drinks while they read all day. Jake had taken to learning constellations in the hopes of an evening just like this one. It was nearly the end of December and the two sets of siblings had decided to meet up for the holidays. The boys wanted to spend the week between Christmas and New Year with the Cahills and Amy and Dan were ready for some warmth after spending the previous month in Vancouver, skiing and skating and seeing the vibrant sights. Tarragona, Spain seemed to be the perfect fit.

"Betelgeuse?" Amy said playfully, "Like the old movie?"

Jake nudged her with his shoulder, "No, as in the celestial body that is over 750 light years away. That's one old star. In fact, when it goes Super Nova, it will take that long for it to reach us." He looked over at Amy, but her face was impassive, just taking in the night sky.

"And that one," Jake said pointing to the sky, is "Rigel. It's a blue supergiant."

Amy gave a shiver, despite the 50-degree weather, she hadn't worn a warm enough jacket.

Jake noticed, "Are you cold?"

Amy was about to answer that she was fine, when Jake unhooked his arm from his side and motioned for her to snuggle up next to him. She happily curled in the crook of his arm while he pulled her tight next to him. A shiver traveled down her body to her toes. It felt almost too personal to be snuggled up next to him like this, but she closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

Jake was having his own moment. He glanced at Amy and smiled to himself. He leaned his head down and rested his cheek on her head. Neither of them spoke for a while.

"What's that one?" Amy said, pointing with her free hand.

Jake had lost interest in their game, his focus shifting to the girl he loved lying so close to him. He took his free hand and pressed his palm against hers. The warmth of her palm felt electric against his.

Amy gave a tiny exhale. "I've never noticed how much bigger your hands are than mine."

Jake examined their pressed palms. She was right, only it wasn't his hand that was big, it was her tiny one. "It's alright, you can't help if you have tiny hands."

Amy scoffed. "I don't have tiny hands!"

"Yes, you do. See? Look how little your pinky finger is compared to mine?" Jake was teasing and loving it.

"No, you just have massive hands that are way too big for your arms," Amy retorted.

Carrying on as if he hadn't heard her insult, he said in his best baby voice, "Wook at dose itty-bitty baby fingers."

Amy scoffed louder and pulled her hand away, making to get up from the roof.

Jake laughed and pulled her back to him, "Amy, don't go, I'm only playing. You know that. I love your hands—and the rest of you." He added for good measure.

Amy sighed, sat and looked back at him over her shoulder. Jake had a very contrite look about him. It broke her resolve.

"Alright. But for the record, I do NOT have tiny hands."

"No, you don't. You have perfectly sized _Amy_ hands." He took her hand and intertwined it with his, pulling her back into their comfortable snuggle.

A silence fell between them as they gazed back at the star-filled sky. In the distance laughter could be heard wafting up from the hot tub where the boys no doubt had been sharing jokes of the 'toilet humor' variety.

Amy gave a small laugh, listening to the two of them having so much fun.

"How's Dan?" Jake asked.

Amy glanced over at him, their hands clasped between them. "He's good. I think he liked Vancouver. I know I did. He's come back to himself more, I think. Of course, if I really want to see him at his best, I need to get him to Atticus."

Jake nodded, "Same for Att. He just comes alive when he's with Dan. I don't really understand it, but, they're more alike now than ever. He'll tell Dan things that even I don't know, and I've lived with him for twelve years!"

Amy smiled. "I guess that's what a best friend will do for you."

Jake gazed at her intently for a long moment before answering with purpose, leaning down to kiss her, "yes, that's exactly what a best friend will do for you."


	17. A Year Off-Part III

A Year Off

Part III

Post Flashpoint

Amy reached the summit first, winded, but recovering quickly. Jake was 8 seconds behind her at this point. He was determined to make it, but he was surprised at how hard it was to keep up with his girlfriend. He hadn't anticipated losing this race to her.

He stopped next to her, resting his hands on his knees and breathing heavy. Amy rubbed his back, "You okay?"

Jake just nodded, unable to say any more. Te Pare Point was beautiful at sunrise. This high point overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the pristine Hahei Beach below was worth the early rise. The only surprising thing about it was Amy's decision to sprint the 1 kilometer to the top instead of a leisurely jog like he had planned.

He straightened up, taking in the rising sun casting pinks and oranges across the water. New Zealand was beautiful in the summertime. As Europe braced for some of the coldest temperatures on record, the Rosenbloom brothers along with Amy and Dan had decided to head to warmer waters for their next meet up.

"Isn't this gorgeous?" Amy asked, staring at the sight. At this early hour, they were the only visitors to this local.

Jake slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"Ames," Jake whispered, "I love you, but you have to give me warning the next time you decide to sprint up a long hill."

Amy shook her head, smiling flirtatiously, "No I don't. You didn't have to join me."

"Are you kidding?" Jake said, protesting.

"Well, then, how about this: When you decide to come back home to Boston, we can start working out together. 5 am. We'll both get in the best shape of our lives." Amy said, wrapping her free hand around his waist in return.

"Then I'll be able to keep up with you," Jake said with a wink and his Hollywood smile. "We can work out, then you can read Tolstoy or Tolkien all day, whichever you prefer."

Amy smiled, pulled away from Jake and made to sit on the curb overlooking the bay. "That was always Evan's favorite."

Jake blanched, _Evan? She hadn't brought his name up in a long time. Idiot. "_Which one, Tolstoy or Tolkien?" he said without skipping a beat.

Amy sighed deeply and wrapped her arms around her knees, staring out at the water. "Tolkien. He had such a creative mind." Then she fell silent, remembering her first boyfriend who had tragically been killed by the Vespers 17 months earlier.

Jake's brow furrowed. He sat on the curb next to her and studied her face intently. _What is she thinking? Clearly, she's thinking about Evan, remembering him. Does she miss him? Does she-, did she prefer him? She's told me she loves me, but, I've never really asked her if-_ His face was turning red. _No more wondering. Resolve this, now, once and for all._

"Ames," Jake started. Quietly, he put his hand on her arm, "I have to ask,"

Amy turned and looked at him.

Jake steeled himself and blurted it out, "If Evan had lived, would we be dating?"

Each of the eight words Jake had spoken hit Amy like rain in a hurricane. She mentally slowed down his voice and repeated those important words again to herself.

_If Evan Had Lived, Would We Be Dating?_

They sounded strange rattling around in her head. The answer came to her quick. _Yes. Of course. How could you not know that? _She thought back to their talk after defeating Pierce in the garden at Attleboro. She hadn't held back. She'd told Jake that she needed him, that he was the strength she relied on. He was the Yin to her Yang.

Amy frowned, "Jake, I thought you knew. Of course. It's always you."

Jake looked a little more relaxed, but his brow still had a crease.

Sighing, "I thought so, I just—" he stopped and looked back out at the rising sun. "Sometimes, when you talk about Evan, I guess I'm not sure."

Amy could tell he wanted more of an answer.

"Evan was—" Amy started, but then stopped. How to explain the difference between Jake and Evan?

"How do I say this?" Amy started again. "I guess it really starts after the clue hunt. Before then, I was a completely different girl. The thought of traveling the globe trying to outwit some of the most ruthless, conniving, deadly members of my _own_ family would have paralyzed me. But we did it. I mean, honestly, Dan and I should have died, many times over! We were only 11 and 14 for God's sake!" At this, she shook her head in disbelief. Jake just gave a small smile.

"After we returned, I tried going back to my normal life, but, it just didn't work. I had become two different individuals occupying the same body. _Safe Amy_ wanted a normal life, a life with a boyfriend and plenty of time to disappear into the crowd. But this other side of me, _Brave Amy_ secretly knew that wasn't ever going to be possible. I was at odds with myself. In a way, I saw Evan as a way to tether myself to the normal life I wanted. Or, at least, I thought I wanted."

Jake took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He knew all too well the PTSD Amy had suffered in the last three years.

Amy looked at their clasped hands. "It turns out, what I really needed wasn't a tether, but a North Star."

Jake looked at her, a small smile breaking.

"I wish he had lived, he deserved that, but he died knowing that I loved him. He never suspected I was going to break up with him."

Jake wasn't so sure about that last statement. Things were tense any time Jake was around Evan and he caught a few looks on his face in their brief encounters, but he would never voice that to Amy. Never.

Jake stood. Extending his hand to Amy. "Come on, let's get some breakfast. I'm sure the food trucks are setting up by now."

Amy had one more thought as she stood. "Jake, it was you. You were there the whole time. You saw what the Vespers did. I will always hate them, but, if it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't be who I am today, and, in case you ever doubt, I'm grateful for you."

Jake wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her close. Amy returned the hug. Then, without warning, Jake bent down, quickly untied both of Amy's laces and sprinted off down the trail.

"See you at the bottom!" he cried over his shoulder.

Amy just stood there, shaking her head watching him retreat down the way they came. He was adorable. She bent, retied her shoelaces, silently counting to 30 in her head.

He deserved that much of a head start.


End file.
